Author Archive | Ven Suresh

On Friday, January 24, 2020, Bastiaan “Bas” Schouten, loving husband of Priscilla Del Bosque Schouten and father of Hendrik and Andrew, passed away at his home in Los Banos, California, at the age of 77.

Bastiaan was born on October 22, 1942 in Delft, The Netherlands to Hendrik and Maria (Visser) Schouten. Along with his parents and siblings, he emigrated to the United States in 1950, where the family settled in Portland, Oregon. He became a naturalized US citizen at the age of 18. Bastiaan often remarked that his first year as an immigrant child was the most difficult year in his life. For this reason, he held a special place in his heart for the children of immigrants, along with their families who work so hard and sacrifice so much to provide their children with greater opportunity and success in their new homeland.  Bastiaan graduated from Benson Polytechnic High School in 1961. He earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in economics from Lewis & Clark College in 1965 and UC Santa Barbara in 1967, respectively. He also obtained the equivalent of a Master’s degree in strategic resource management from the National Defense University in 1989.

On March 20, 1967, he married the love of his life, Priscilla, with whom he built a life of service and adventure for almost 53 years.  Heeding President John F. Kennedy’s call, Bastiaan and Priscilla both joined the Peace Corps in 1967 and served in Honduras. Bastiaan subsequently served with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Over the course of his 31-year career as a U.S. diplomat, he was stationed in Honduras, Bolivia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Jordan, and Washington, D.C., where he headed the Office for Development Planning in the Latin America and Caribbean Bureau. After retiring as a Senior U.S. Foreign Service Officer, Bastiaan worked as a contractor on USAID-financed economic development programs in Egypt, Israel (West Bank/Gaza), Cyprus, The Philippines, and, in 2004, Iraq.

During his career, Bastiaan earned a reputation as an innovative strategist and brilliant economist dedicated to helping developing nations achieve economic success. Among other achievements, Bastiaan was the intellectual architect behind Costa Rica’s transformation into a model of export-led growth and an eco-tourism destination, significantly decreasing extreme poverty in that country. Years later, Bastiaan remarked: “The near elimination of absolute poverty in Costa Rica was not a stated objective of the USAID program in the early 1980’s; it was the consequence of the stated objective of a sustained, high level of economic growth. It is the fulfillment of a development professional’s dream, and I am proud to have participated with Costa Ricans in its achievement.”

Bastiaan and Priscilla (a Senior USAID Foreign Service Officer herself) spent most of their careers working and living overseas, while raising their two sons, Hendrik and Andrew. In 2000, they chose to make their home in Oro Loma, California, a small, agricultural community in that state’s San Joaquin Valley, where Priscilla was raised as a child. For many years afterwards, the inseparable couple and their good friend, Eugene Vierra of Los Banos, organized and facilitated the “Great Decisions” discussion group and program at the Los Banos campus of Merced Community College, as a forum to discuss and learn about important issues in foreign affairs. They also advocated on educational issues impacting Latino children in the Oro Loma community.

Bastiaan is survived by his loving wife Priscilla, their sons Hendrik (married to Meghan Elizabeth Harlan) and Andrew (married to Megan Myra Moore), their four grandchildren – Nicole, Payton, Erik, and Christian, and Bastiaan’s four siblings: Marianne Van Huizen of Molalla, Oregon; Dirkje Coutant of Santa Cruz, California; and Hendrik Schouten and Sarah Grewe, both of Portland, Oregon.

Bastiaan passionately believed that education was the key to a better future for people and for nations. To honor his belief and his immigrant experience, the family requests that in lieu of flowers; please make donations to the Bastiaan Schouten Memorial Fund administered by the Central Valley Community Foundation, at www.centralvalleycf.org/donate. Donations will help San Joaquin Valley immigrants, children of immigrants, and/or children of farm workers achieve their post-secondary educational goals, when donating, please include “Bastiaan Schouten Memorial Fund” in the memo.*

Arnie was born in the Bronx, New York in 1946 to Hattie and Philip Haiman. He attended James Monroe High School, where he met the love of his life, Regina Acompore. He died on December 24, 2019, after a year-long battle with ALS. He is survived by his wife of 50 years Regina, their son David (Marta), their daughter Deborah, their three grandchildren, Inti, Judah, and Millie, and his brother Mark (Cheryl).

After graduating from NYU Law School, Arnie joined the Coast Guard. He served six years as a lawyer and a Special Agent in the Coast Guard Investigative Service. He transferred into the Navy JAG Corps where his duties included service as a circuit-riding judge overseas. Awards included Meritorious Service Commendation Medals.

He retired in 1990 and went to work as a Senior Executive at the U.S. Agency for International Development. He regularly visited attorneys he had assigned to trouble spots such as Afghanistan and Iraq and served as an aid worker during Operation Iraqi Freedom. He continued to receive recognition, including a Presidential Rank Award, for the quality of his work and his willingness to take on the most difficult assignments.

During his Navy career, Arnie earned an LL.M in Criminal Law (Highest Academic Honors) and after retiring from USAID, became a Certified Compliance and Ethics Professional. He worked as an Ethics Consultant and an Executive Coach. He was a popular instructor at George Washington University and the Federal Executive Institute — known for his energy, ready wit, and mentorship. He was flattered and always available when former students sought him out for advice. After some success in seeing his op-ed opinions published, he tried his hand at fiction. He wrote several mysteries, a military adventure novel, and a police story.

His volunteer activities included working at Fisher House and tutoring in the Alexandria City and Fairfax County schools. He was a member of Temple B’Nai Shalom.

Notwithstanding busy and challenging career assignments, the central focus of his life was his family. His happiest days were the many family holidays and vacations where he would regale the kids with made-up funny adventure stories. He was an avid pickleball player in later years and enjoyed the competition and the new friends he made on the court.

Donations in his memory may be sent to the ALS Association.

Joseph Haratani found freedom on December 6th, 2019, ninety-six years after his birth in Florin, California on October 27th, 1923. Although uprooted as a teen and forced into Amache internment camp with his parents and siblings, Joe served the public good his entire life. He began by volunteering in the US Army’s 442nd Regimental Combat Team during WWII, surviving combat in Italy and France. Joe earned degrees at both Stanford University and the University of California (Berkeley), probably so he could claim his football team always won the Big Game. Joe joined the USAID as a civil/sanitary engineer working in regions of Latin America, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East, improving sanitation infrastructure and access to potable water.

Joe and his wife Amy – Ada (she prefers “Amy” from a typo in her FBI wartime file), successfully raised three sons, and he became a devoted grandfather in his seventies.  When his grandchildren had a six-month relocation to Brussels, Joe (then 81) suffered such severe grand-withdrawal that he flew to Brussels to see them.

In 1988, the US government made monetary reparations to surviving WWII internees. Joe donated his to a trust for Sonora Elementary School with the stipulation that the interest be used for education about civil rights.

Joe had a keen sense of humor while exuding dignity, generosity and kindness. He will be greatly missed by his wife Amy-Ada, Guy and Joyce, Richard and Kathleen, Saji and Nicole, grandchildren Jazmine and Jean-Patrik, sisters Grace Aikawa, Irene Yamamoto, brother David and sister-in-law Dale, as well as his extended family and legions of friends.  A celebration of Joe’s extraordinary life will be held in Spring of 2020.

William Claiborne Darkins –known to colleagues as ‘Bill’ and to close relatives and close friends as ‘Claiborne’– was born in Petersburg, VA on March 20, 1947, the youngest child of the late William Henry Darkins and Anna Lee Watkins Darkins. On Friday, February 23, 2018, he transitioned to another life after a short illness.  He was the product of a strong willed and hardworking family and he made it his life’s work to give more than 100% in all of his endeavors. Faith was always the foundation of his existence.

Bill grew up in Petersburg as a young enthusiastic participant in the Boy Scouts of America achieving the rank of Life Scout and numerous Boy Scout achievement badges. His early education through high school was in Petersburg Public Schools where he was very active in Peabody High School choir and other activities, including leadership roles and membership in the National Honor Society. He graduated from Peabody High School in 1965.

Bill entered Howard University in Washington, DC and graduated in 1969 with a B.A. degree in Economics. After college, he worked in several programs at the University of District of Columbia before joining the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) while also earning another degree from George Washington University. He was a world traveler dedicated to helping people in developing countries.

USAID sent him to various places throughout Africa, the Middle East and Washington, DC.  At headquarters, he directed and supervised challenging programs in a portfolio focused on West Africa, the Sahel and Egypt. In May 1990, Bill earned a Master of International Public Policy from The Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD. Serving for 27 years as a skilled and versatile foreign service officer, Bill was an energetic and effective team leader with proven ability to successfully manage complex programs in diverse cultural environments.

While Bill grew up in the Baptist church, he was confirmed at the National Cathedral in Washington, DC. Later, he joined the Trinity Episcopal Church in Washington, DC where he actively served in various ministries including the male chorus, welcoming new members to the parish and assisting with revival preparations.

He loved to read the Washington Post Newspaper, as well as professional and educational magazines.  He was kind, caring, cooperative and loved spending time with family and close friends.  He is survived by his two sisters, Geraldine Darkins Simmons (Grover) of Decatur, GA and Joan Darkins Smith of Laurel, MD; a nephew, Joseph Smith of Laurel, MD; a niece, Sylvia Smith Evans (Mark) of Lanham, MD; numerous cousins in Richmond, VA.

Chloris E. Simpson, age 100 (10 days shy of 101), a retired Foreign Service Secretary of Alexandria, VA died February 6, 2020, in Cherrydale Health and Rehab Center.  She was born in Worcester, MA, daughter of the late Waldo W. and Ellen M. Simpson and sister of predeceased siblings Lola Connaughton and Jessie Larter.  She was a Navy veteran of WWII, serving at the Bureau of Ships, Washington DC, and at the Navy Yard in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, from 1943 – 1946.   Her government employment included assignments in Tokyo, Japan and Naha, Okinawa, with the Department of the Army; in Morocco, Spain and at the Pentagon with the Department of the Air Force, and in Vietnam and Egypt with the Department of State (US Agency for International Development).  She retired from the Foreign Service in June 1979 after 32 years service.  Upon moving to VA, she was briefly employed by AT&T.

Ms. Simpson is a life-long member of the North Grafton United Methodist Church, in North Grafton, MA.  Since moving to Virginia, her church affiliation was with the Metropolitan Memorial United Methodist Church in Washington, DC.

Ms. Simpson is survived by one sister, Mrs. Jane Rathburn, of Hopkinton, MA and two brothers, Waldo W. Simpson of Grafton, MA, and John Simpson of North Grafton, MA.

Ms.Simpson maintained her 14th story apartment at Southern Towers in Alexandria, VA for 37 years. She was known for her cuisine, dinner parties, luxurious taste and always being “The Lady” — she even dressed up to pick up her mail!  She had her hair coiffured every week and loved shopping at Trader Joes and Giant where she was well respected.   She was a self-made woman, fiercely independent, didn’t believe in medications and paid for most everything by check.  She loved dining out, being with friends, maintaining close family ties and treating herself to a Bombay Sapphire martini with olive every night.

She will be buried at Arlington Cemetery in accordance with her wishes.

Alfred David White was born on April 25, 1925, in Boston, Massachusetts.  After graduating from Boston Latin High School, he joined the U.S. Navy, where he served on the shores of Japan until August 6, 1945.  After his military service, he received a bachelor’s degree from Colgate University and a Master’s Degree from the University of Chicago.

He joined the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and quickly worked his way up to become the youngest Deputy Assistant Administrator for the Near East Bureau.  Under the leadership of the AA, Al was responsible for the policy direction and day-to-day management of more than 14 country programs, 10 overseas missions, a staff in Washington, DC, and in the field of over 600, as well as a larger staff of foreign national employees, an annual budget of $2.5 billion with an active program portfolio of over $5 billion.  In addition, he managed more than $300 million in the Food for Peace Program.

Al enjoyed traveling around the world with his wife, Zafra, and going to the opera, symphony, ballet, theater and art museums with her.  He loved to celebrate holidays and go on vacations with Yoav, Caron, Ben and Daniel.  Al has been described by those who knew him as an extraordinary colleague and leader, but, more importantly, a dear and very special friend.  He will be deeply missed.

He passed away on December 25, 2019, at the age of 94.  May his memory be a blessing to us all!

In Arlington, Virginia on January 21, 2020, holding hands with her beloved daughter Adrienne Lea Misheloff Czechowski and loving husband, Steven M. Klonsky, Jane Ruth Misheloff passed away.

Jane was born on July 22, 1944 in Malden, Massachusetts. After graduating from Fisher Junior College in Boston, she joined the US Agency for International Development and performed tours of duty in the Sudan, Uganda and Nigeria from 1966 through 1970.

She moved to Washington, DC in 1970 and graduated from School of Languages and Linguistics at Georgetown University in 1973. In 1975, she became a lifelong resident of Arlington, Virginia. From 1981-1987 she was a Project Assistant at the Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Government Affairs Office.

Jane earned an MBA from Marymount University in 1988 and in 1999 a Ph.D. in Public Administration/Public Affairs from the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. From 1995 through 1997, Jane was an instructor at the Washington Semester Program at Virginia Tech and also at Northern Virginia Community College. During this period, Jane worked to secure numerous student internships from federal, state, local and non-profit organizations. Dr. Misheloff returned to government service for several years at the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) as an International Program Specialist from 2000 through 2006.

First and foremost, Jane was a wonderful and dedicated mother to Adrienne and grandmother (Nana) to Ezra and Sophia. Jane had boundless love for her niece, Taylor, and nephews, Dana and Jason.

Jane cultivated many close friendships. She had a clever sense of humor that would catch you off guard but endear her to you. She possessed a beautiful gift to relate to young people and had a positive and powerful influence on many lives.  Jane was a renaissance woman possessing an engaging array of knowledge, skills and passions with a relentless drive to add to her repertoire. Paramount in her later years were advanced language study, genealogy, gardening, writing and illustrating (publishing several books), decoy collecting, equine hospital volunteer work, horseback riding and supporting canine rescue efforts.

A Celebration of Life will be held at a date to be announced. Please direct contributions in Jane’s name to Mutt Love Rescue, PO Box 1005, Fairfax, VA 22038 or via PayPal to Adopt@MuttLoveRescue.org.

Gary Dale Adams of Annandale, Virginia, passed away peacefully on Sunday, January 12, 2020, after bravely facing carcinoid syndrome, a rare cancer, for more than 30 years. Gary was born in Washington, DC on July 23, 1940, to the late Joseph Adams and Edna Larsen, the eldest of four children. Gary is beloved and survived by his wife Choi Mei, daughters Madeline and Pauline, brothers Donald and Bill, son-in-law Patrick Dillon, and grandchildren Sean, Nina and Noelle.

Gary graduated from the University of Maryland earning a degree in economics and worked for the US Agency for International Development (USAID) as a Foreign Service Officer. His first overseas assignment was to Saigon, Vietnam from 1968-1973, where he connected with Choi Mei Chan, a PanAm Airlines travel agent, who would later become his wife of over 45 years. Gary also worked in Bangladesh and Pakistan before being diagnosed with cancer at the age of 49.

Gary had a strong will to live for his family and friends, and endured multiple treatments and surgeries, all with an optimistic and grateful faith in the Lord. Gary poured his time into volunteering for Faith in the Family, participating in his daughters’ activities, as well as supporting the needs of friends and family members. Through his technical writing skills and constant encouragement, Gary was able to support Choi Mei to achieve her lifelong dream of earning a Medical Doctor degree in 2013. Perhaps his greatest gift of love was full-time daycare to his three grandkids. Gary will be deeply missed and was honored at a graveside service on February 15, 2020 at Fairfax Memorial Park.

Kenneth Wayne Beasley, 78, passed away on December 31, 2019 from renal disease at his home in Herndon, Virginia, surrounded by family. He was born in Mitchell, Indiana and attended Purdue University from 1959 to 1963 on a full scholarship. He majored in Industrial Management. In 1963, he entered the Peace Corps as the first volunteer from Lawrence County (Indiana) and was sent to Ecuador where he organized credit coops backstopped by the Credit Union National Association (CUNA). He returned to the U.S. in 1965 and entered the Economics Graduate Program at Indiana University, obtaining a Masters in 1967 and passing PhD Field Exams in 1969. While there, he married his wife, Anne, whom he met in a Spanish class.

Prior to joining USAID, Ken worked in Venezuela and Jamaica. In 1969, he went to Venezuela with a grant from the Midwestern Universities Consortium for International Activities and a Latin American Teaching Fellowship. He and Anne drove to Panama following the Pan American Highway and had many adventures. During 10 years in Venezuela, he worked first at the Venezuelan Tourism Corporation and later as a private consultant. In 1982, he accepted a position at the Jamaica Export Credit Insurance Corporation in the Bank of Jamaica as part of a team for the Rehabilitation Fund financed by the Inter-American Development Bank. The purpose of the fund was to encourage lending to companies that had export potential based on price competitiveness.

Ken joined USAID as a Program Economist and served first in LAC/DP, backstopping Caribbean countries and subsequently in the Dominican Republic, Bolivia, Hungary and Serbia. In the DR, he worked with the government to develop and implement a comprehensive program of fundamental policy reform supported by Economic Support Funds. Within the Mission, he wrote a series of “school briefs” explaining in layman’s terms the underlying economic rationale for reforms. While Ken worked on macro policy, Anne worked on microfinance, assisting NGOs with lending programs. In Bolivia, a principal accomplishment was designing a project with the Catholic University to set up a Master’s Program in public administration, accounting and auditing. In Hungary, as Program Officer, he worked to streamline the mission’s program and support critical objectives that led to a successful close-out. The focus in Serbia from 1998-2000 was supporting democracy, especially after the Kosovo intervention. In 2004, Ken rejoined USAID as a civil service employee in PPC/CDIE where he wrote “Job Creation in Post-Conflict Societies” that was widely read. Later, he joined EGAT/EG/TIF as Senior Trade Advisor. He retired definitively in 2015.

In retirement, he was dedicated to his garden, traveling and being with his family. He is survived by his wife Anne, daughters Nicole Beasley-Becker (Kirk), Michelle Beasley, and sons Kenneth Beasley (Xiomy) and Andrew Beasley, as well as his beloved grandchildren Anthony, Alexandra and Josh.*

Daniel H. Erickson III passed away peacefully on Monday, February 17, 2020 in his home of 24 years in Sterling, VA. He was on born March 2, 1924 in Newfield, NJ and grew up in Glassboro, NJ– the son of Dorothy and Daniel Erickson.  Dan was survived by his wife of 63 years, Dorothy (Dot), his daughter Beth, son Jeff (wife Shelley), his grandsons, Rob and Jim and their wives and grandchildren.

Dan was Class President and Valedictorian from Glassboro, NJ High School in 1941 and started college at Rutgers, but soon left to volunteer in the US Navy during WW II.  He then returned to complete his undergraduate degree at Yale University in 1947.  He continued his education by attending the University of Pennsylvania law school (LLB, 1950) and NYU for international law (LLM, 1960). He retired as a Lieutenant Commander  from the US Naval Reserves on his birthday in 1984.

Dan was a corporate lawyer for Worthington Corporation (NJ) until 1967, when he established his own business– Resources Development Corporation (RDC). Wanting to utilize his education and his interest in international development, he became a lawyer for the Asian Development Bank (ADB), in Manila, Philippines in 1972 and formed the Association of Former Employees of the ADB. In 1976, Dan joined the US Foreign Service (USAID), serving in the Middle East, Africa, Pakistan and Cameroon. He retired from USAID at the age 65 and moved to Bridgeton, NJ in 1988 to be closer to his children and grandchildren, and moved again to be near them in Sterling, VA in 1996.

Wherever Dan lived, he was actively involved in/or forming Rotary Clubs. He was also an avid gardener, loved classical, patriotic and church music and was a faithful church member.