Author Archive | Ven Suresh

Robert Andrew Thompson, a retired Foreign Service Reserve officer with the U.S. Agency for
International Development, died on July 4, 2014, at the age of 86. He lived in Arlington, Virginia.

Born in Illinois, Thompson saw combat during the Korean conflict as a member of the
11th Airborne Division of the U.S. Army and attained the rank of captain. He earned his bachelor’s
degree in 1960 and his master’s degree in 1962 from the University of Chicago.

Mr. Thompson joined USAID in 1963 as a management analyst. A year later, he was assigned to Saigon, working successively as an assistant development officer, assistant provincial representative and provincial representative. In 1968, he was transferred to Bangkok as an assistant program officer. After four years at USAID headquarters, he returned to Bangkok in 1973 as a program operations officer.

In retirement, Mr. Thompson perfected his golf game, primarily at the Army-Navy Club course in Arlington. Mr. Thompson leaves Marian O’Connor Thompson, his wife of 56 years.

Neil Dimick of New Braunfels, Texas, a pioneer in irrigation water management, passed away on April 4. 2014, at the age of 87. Neil became a key contributor of professional accomplishments to irrigation water management because of his involvement with USAID in Pakistan beginning in 1967. Consequent to previous work by USAID in Turkey, Neil was the leader in bringing small scraper and land plane units to Pakistan for development and refinement in an evolving new farm water management program.

Neil found small industries in Pakistan, particularly Ghazi industry, that were willing to continuously become involved in improving the effectiveness of the machines needed for precision leveling of small fields. This included with time the adaptation of the land leveling machines to laser controls for improved precision leveling operations.

Neil worked with the industries to improve the machines. He also became involved in identifying groups supporting farmers to help provide them with precision land leveling services. This involved finding young engineers who could be trained to provide effective land leveling services. His dedication, service, cooperation, and collaboration to effectively train and support these personnel and their needs became a keynote of his involvement in ensuring the success of this effort. Today, there are many precision leveled fields in Pakistan with private entities providing an effective service and larger and larger areas of farms and fields that are precision leveled. Neiil also supported the development of supplemental equipment that provided farmers with the capability to use tractor power for more effective farming operations.

Precision leveled fields are essential to good water management and optimum crop production. Having the equipment and supporting units that effectively provide this service is an essential part of productive irrigated agriculture. The precision land leveling (PLL) service and supporting units became the necessary components for water conservation and increasing food production.

There were many individuals and units that contributed to an effective irrigation water management program especially the farm water management program that evolved in Pakistan. The plan that provided effective equipment and personnel for precision leveled fields was a key to the success of this effort. Hence, this supported on-site demonstrations of the process to local farmers in their own fields. Farmers often saved several times the water normally used for irrigation and increased yields by several magnitudes. These impacts created interest, participation and effective programs for farmers, Pakistani officials in supporting organizations, and donor units involved in Pakistan. Neil’s precision land leveling technology was one of the key keys to this success. Today, increased farm areas are precision leveled every year using Neil’s technology.

The impact of this program in Pakistan caused many donor organizations and countries to make farm water management and improved irrigation water management the key emphasis of development in countries around the world. Previous to the Pakistan Program, farm water management was left out of most such development programs. Pakistan now exports many precision land leveling units to other countries.

Neil Dimick was involved in similar programs in Egypt from 1977 to 1982 and in India from 1982 to1986. Precision land leveling technologies were key components in these farm water management programs. In Egypt he was awarded a Meritorious Honor Award by the U. S. Agency for International Development for his work in irrigation water management. His emphases in adapting and improving precision land leveling in Egypt and India were an important part of his contribution.

Neil’s professional career began with his work in irrigation water management while completing his B. S. and M. S. in agricultural engineering at South Dakota State University. He then worked for ten years for the Agricultural Research Service of the U. S. Department of Agriculture. His initial international work in Pakistan was with Tipton and Kalmbach, an engineering consulting firm. He then began his work with USAID.

Neil and Lillian Dimick had three sons, Craig, Brad, and Dan. Craig, and his wife, Thea have two daughters, Crystal and Carmel. Carmel has given Neil two great grand children, Sierra and Landon. Brad and Laurene have one daughter, Abigail. Dan and Jayne have two children, Daisy and Donald. Neil was preceded in death by Lillian in 2004. His wife, Theresa, survives him. Theresa and Neil were married in 2007. Their children include Renee Luciani Psaras and Marcia Luciani. Their granddaughters include Nicole Chammas and Samantha Chammas.

Dr. Willard Harold Boynton, “Doc,” died Aug. 3, 2014 on Monhegan Island, surrounded by three generations of his family along With his caregiver.

Doc was born April 9, 1914, to parents, Willard Rollins Boynton and Fronie (Fletcher) Boynton In Groveland, Mass.

Doc graduated from the University of Massachetts with a bachelor of the arts degree, Yale University with a master’s of public health and Tufts University with a medical degree. He practiced family medicine in Bethel and was the school physician for Gould Academy from 1944-1956. He then joined the State Department, USAID branch, for a long career in overseas Public Health projects. While with USAID he worked in several continents and many countries throughout the world.

His first post was in Viet Nam for seven years. Among his accomplishments was the building of a medical school in Saigon and work eradicating malaria throughout the country. His career in later years was in population control for which he received a distinguished award from the U.S. Congress.

Doc was predeceased by his wife Ruth of 64 years (D-2003) and his sister Marion. His beloved older brother James died two days before him.

Doc leaves his five children, five grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. His children include David Boynton of Brunswick, Susan Koerher of Dunbarton, N.H., Douglas and Willard Boynton of Monhegan Island and Sally Boynton of Weston, Conn. Grandchildren are Marisa and Claire Boynton of Monhegan Island, Heather Nunes of Sudbury, Mass., Sara Galantowicz of Arlington, Mass. and Christopher Koerber of North Haven.

Jeremiah E. Parson, 77, passed away at his residence on August 10, 2014. Born in Albany, he is the son of the late Jerome and Evelyn Parson.

Jeremiah worked at the university of Wisconsin before starting out as one of the first Peace Corp Volunteers to Tanzania. An avid fan of race car driving, he competed in the East African Safari Rally in Kenya and decided to work in Africa for many years in Peace Corps and later for USAID. He was a member of several associations, including The Lions Club and The Harley Davidson Motorcycle club. He had travelled to many parts of the world making lifelong friends and scrabble buddies.

He is survived by a sister, Elnora Willingham, and his three children Adam, Bharat and Lisa Parson and two grandchildren Cameron Parson and Tristan Parson

Jean Pinder, a pioneer in advanced professional education for African American women, died peacefully September 7, 2014 after a short illness. Born September 2, 1916, she graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and her RN certification from UC- Berkeley in 1940. She taught in the nursing program at Dillard University, 1942-46, and went on to graduate from Yale School of Public Health in 1947, among the first African American women to do so.

She joined the U.S. Public Health Service in 1953, was among the first US State Department Agency for International Development personnel serving in pre- and early post-Independence-era Africa in Liberia, Ghana, and, in her later career, as the Washington-based USAID consultant for Maternal and Child Health across North Africa.

She retired in 1982 to Tucson, Arizona, where she remained active in community public health actions, the Episcopal Church, and as a violinist for the Community Orchestra of Tucson. Cataclysmic onset of dementia forced her relocation with her long-time friend Elouise Duncan, the first African American woman to graduate from Yale’s School of Nursing, into the home of Elouise’s son, Jean’s godson, Henry, his wife Magdeline and their children, in Gaithersburg, MD. The Duncans cared for both women through Elouise’s death in 2007 and then for Jean until a hip fracture in 2012 required long-term residential care. Jean is survived by the Duncan family, that of her step-son, Dr. Frank Pinder, Jr., and friends who loved her very much.

Robert Gaul, age 77, passed away September 16, 2014 in Fairfax, VA. He had Alzheimer’s disease.

Son of Robert Louis and Doris Broker Gaul, born March 2, 1932 in White Plains, NY, he was a graduate of White Plains High School, class of 1949. After being drafted and serving time in the Army, he attended the University of Colorado, graduating in 1961 with a degree in Business Administration.

He joined the USAID Foreign Service in 1965 and was a Program Officer stationed in Manila, Saigon, and Bangkok. In 1992, he earned his Master of Library Science degree from the University of Maryland.

His marriage to Barbara Jean McLaughlin ended in divorce. His survivors include son, Todd Eric of Carrboro, NC, Tracy Ellen (Mrs. Matt) Prostko and grandson Trip Prosko of Austin, TX, brother Ronald of Ft. Collins, CO, several cousins, and longtime companion, Joyce Simmons of Fairfax, VA.

Karl Mathiasen III of Washington, DC, a community leader and adviser to many charities, passed peacefully while in hospice care on September 20, 2014 at the age of 88. He was predeceased by his wife Elizabeth Howard Mathiasen in 2007. He is survived by his son Tim of Pennington, NJ, daughters Elizabeth Tillson and Ann Farquhar as well as six grandchildren – Andrew, Tyler, Madison, Sarah, Logan and Lynn.

Mr. Mathiasen was an Army veteran of World War II and graduated from Princeton University in 1949. He went on to earn a Masters degree from Columbia University School of International Affairs in 1951.

Mr. Mathiasen served with the Agency for International Development from 1951 to 1963. He served in North Africa and as Chief of the Policy Planning Division. After USAID, he was a senior staff member of the Brookings Institution and he was Executive Vice President of the University of North Africa Association. In 1972, he founded the Planning and Management Assistance Project of the Center for Community Change, which became the Management Assistance Group (MAG) in 1980. At the MAG, he provided management counseling and organizational analysis to many nonprofit groups, including the National Resources Defense Council, Amnesty International USA, and Children’s Defense Fund, Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, Gay Men’s Health Crisis, various AIDS related charities and many community foundations. He was recognized as one of the nation’s leading experts on board and staff dynamics and board development. He retired in 1995. He served on the boards of over 35 charities and faith-based groups, among them the New World Foundation, where he served as President, the Winston Foundation for World Peace, the Center for Theology and Public Policy, the International Women’s Health Coalition, D.C. Citizens for Better Public Education and the Moriah Fund. He also was active in the Episcopal Church and served as Vice Chairman of the Board for Theological Education.

As the sun rose, on Oct. 9, 2014, Sandi Severn closed her eyes, breathed her last breath and left us. The daughter of Winston and Louise (Hill) Robbins, Sandi was born on Aug. 3, 1946, in Portland. She graduated from Falmouth High School in 1964 and three years later graduated from the University of Maine at Portland (now the University of Southern Maine) with a degree in English and a minor in education.

After graduation, Sandi moved to Albuquerque, N.M., where a favorite aunt resided. There she began her career in the health field with Aetna. A few years later, one of her best friends from high school told her that her brother, Ben Severn, was moving into the area to work on his advanced degree and asked Sandi to introduce him to the area. She did that as well as marrying him just four months later on Jan. 31, 1969. Their only child, Amy was born on Oct. 8, 1972.

In 1974, they moved to the Washington, D.C., area, where Sandi continued working for Aetna and Ben began his career with USAID. In 1979, the family moved to Panama for Ben’s job. While there, Sandi worked for Oklahoma University and earned her master’s degree in human resources. In 1983, the family returned to Washington, D.C., where Sandi continued her work in the health field. In 1987, the family followed Ben’s career to Nairobi, Kenya where Sandi, not known to let grass grow under her feet, quickly immersed herself in a USAID agricultural project. Weekends and vacations were spent on Safari trips throughout Kenya, with many a short trip to the Nairobi National Park to just sit in the car with Ben and watch the giraffes as they roamed around, and often with just Amy while Ben traveled around the continent.

While in Kenya Sandi offered her home as a place for Peace Corp. volunteers to come for a hot shower and a home cooked meal while they were in town. This sparked several friendships that have remained after all these years. After four years in Kenya, the family moved back to the D.C. area for just a few months and then moved to the Dominican Republic. In 1992 Sandi and Ben came back to their home in the Washington, D.C., area.
Given her experiences oversea and working with USAID, Sandi found a great fit in her job as a contracts officer with Family Health International working on grants and contracts for a project called AIDSCAP, helping to control the spread of AIDS in under developed countries.

In 2000, Sandi and Ben retired to a 10 family association at the very southern end of Panther Pond in Raymond, ‘The Home of the Land Locked Salmon,’ that flows into Sebago Lake. Sandi particularly enjoyed sharing their lake front home with family and friends. She continued her work with Family Health International from home for a few years. Always one to be kept busy, over time she became involved with the Raymond Public Library, and to maintain data bases for the Panther Pond Association and the Raymond Waterways Protective Association and to write many of their thank you letters. As the ultimate shopper of bargains, she loved to show everyone how much, well, how little she paid for a shirt or a pair of pants she bought at GW Designs (Goodwill) or Sal’s Boutique (Salvation Army) .

When grandson Jack was seven years old he started attending Camp Nana and Grandpappy for at least a week before Amy and her husband David arrived for their annual vacation at the lake. As the informational hub for extended family, Sandi loved having family gatherings at the lake during the summer to catch up with her siblings, nieces, nephews and even the grandnieces and nephews, creating lasting memories for all.

It was Sandi’s green thumb and love of order and beauty that led her to bring a common area filled with rocks and high and low blueberry bushes under control and to build beautiful flower beds in front of the house looking toward Panther Pond. Her battle with deer over her hosta was legendary, with her shaved Irish spring soap bindings winning the day.

Surviving are her husband Ben; daughter Amy Brown, son-in-law David, and grandson Jack; sister Joan Jagolinzer, brother Win Robbins and his wife Penny; Ben’s siblings Eveleen, Charnette and Ken; along with numerous nieces, nephews; grandnieces and grandnephews whom she adored.

Dr. Carol J. Lancaster, the former USAID Deputy Administrator and Dean of the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University, died October 22.

Carol was an extraordinary leader in the development community and gave much during her three decades of exemplary service and leadership to her alma mater, Georgetown University, to the Agency for International Development, and the U.S. Department of State. In addition, Carol supported the larger national and international development communities through her pro bono work with countless non-profits. She was a creative scholar and a trusted practitioner. Over the years, she became a highly respected interlocutor for governments throughout Africa and Asia.

Her deep knowledge of what works and does not work in the development field, her common sense approach to difficult obstacles to development, her can-do philosophy, and her wonderful sense of humor will be sorely missed.

The Wilson Center extends its deepest sympathies to her husband, Curt Farrar, her son, Doug Farrar, and the extended Lancaster-Farrar family.