Author Archive | Ven Suresh

FLEMING HAROLD S. FLEMING Diplomat, Author, Humanitarian – Hal Fleming died suddenly of heart failure on February 4, 2014 at home in Great Falls, Virginia, with his devoted wife Arlene by his side. He was born on April 21, 1931 in New Haven, Connecticut, the son of Harold S. and Edith Wormley Fleming. Hal was a loving husband, father and grandfather, a loyal friend, and a man of many interests and talents which he pursued enthusiastically throughout his life. From his West Indian heritage and grandfather, Dr. Richard S. Fleming, he developed a passion for all things British: literature, history, culture and sport, tennis being his favorite. His household was not complete without an English Springer Spaniel. As a young boy, Hal was fascinated by the tented railroad circus of the 1940s which inspired him over the years to build an elaborate, intricate model circus and to become an expert on the history of the circus in America. He also undertook construction on a larger scale, renovating houses on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, and elsewhere. Hal was an excellent cook and enjoyed entertaining at his homes in Great Falls, Virginia and on Longboat Key, Florida, especially at his Thanksgiving table. His beautiful garden was the setting for celebrations and parties. Hal was a prolific writer with published works including several short stories and poems and two novels: The Brides’ Fair, a story of intrigue and action set in Morocco; and Once Upon A Storm, a Civil Rights era mystery. A 1949 graduate of Mount Hermon School, Hal received his B.A. from Brown University with distinction in 1953, and an M.A. in English Literature from Columbia University in 1955. At Mount Hermon and Brown, he participated in sports and choral groups. From 1958 – 65, while employed by the research division of Forbes Magazine, he was a lecturer in English Literature at City College of New York. He was a founding member of Ten, an informal fund-raising group supporting various civil rights organizations. Hal had a distinguished career as a diplomat, international development manager, and humanitarian. In 1966, he joined the U.S. Peace Corps staff where he directed public affairs and recruiting at a time of Civil Rights and Anti-Vietnam War turbulence, and then served as country director in Cote D’Ivoire, West Africa. During two years as Executive Director of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in the mid-1970s, he accomplished major management reforms. Upon returning to the Foreign Service, Hal joined the U.S. Agency for International Development from 1978 – 83 as Mission Director in Morocco where he introduced programs for family planning and women in development. He assisted the Moroccan government in establishing one of the first institutes for renewable energy in the region, an activity that continues. As counselor for development at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations from 1983 – 86, Hal negotiated U.S. positions on a wide range of issues including economic development and environmental protection. At UNICEF from 1986 – 92, he oversaw new child survival initiatives and helped launch major humanitarian assistance programs including Operation Life-line Sudan. From 1994 – 97, at the U.S. Department of State, as Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Organizations, Hal was in charge of policy and management for U.S. support of 80 U.N. and other international agencies. He created and supervised development of Relief Web, an Internet-based information management system for disaster response. Hal’s work involved extensive travel and garnered numerous awards, including the USAID Administrator’s Meritorious Achievement Award in 1985, and the U.S. Committee for UNICEF President’s Award in 1989. Throughout his career, he was appreciated as a kind and generous mentor. In addition to Arlene, his wife of 38 years, Hal is survived by their daughter Laura, by three sons, Douglass, Craig and Harold Gordon, from a prior marriage to Patricia S. Fleming, a grandson, Max, a sister, Norene Fleming, and a nephew, Toure Lee. A son, David, died at the age of three in 1981. A memorial gathering for family, friends and colleagues is scheduled for April 27 from 4 to 6 p.m., at DACOR Bacon House, 1801 F Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20006. Contributions in Hal’s memory may be made to the DACOR Bacon House Foundation or to the U.S. Committee for UNICEF.A memorial gathering for family, friends and colleagues is scheduled for April 27 from 4 to 6 p.m., at DACOR Bacon House, 1801 F Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20006. Contributions in Hal’s memory may be made to the DACOR Bacon House Foundation or to the U.S. Committee for UNICEF

Allen Randlov of Tuftonboro, NH, died Saturday, August 31 at Huggins Hospital, Wolfeboro, NH.  Allen graduated from Northeastern University with a BS in Anthropology and received a Master of Science degree in Public Health from the University of Massachusetts. He also attended a Doctoral Program at John’s Hopkins.

Allen and his wife Nancy were Peace Corps volunteers in Sierra Leone in the early 1970s. Allen subsequently worked for the U.S. State Department Agency for International Development, overseeing a program that provided prosthetic devices to civilian victims of war. Allen received the USAID Superior Honor Award for this work in 1994 “in recognition of his sensitivity, dedication, and professional creativity in understanding and responding to the prosthetic and rehabilitative needs of civilian victims of war, resulting in returning thousands of these victims to productive roles in their societies.” He and Nancy lived in Nepal, Barbados, and Washington, DC before retiring to Wolfeboro in 1994 and then moving to Tuftonboro in 2005.

Allen had many interests and enjoyed reading, working on vintage cars, and observing his parakeets and peacocks. Recently he built and sailed a radio-controlled miniature sailboat. Allen lost the use of his legs in a traffic accident while stationed in Barbados. Lifecare planning became an important part of managing his long-term needs, and this guide offers helpful insights into that process. Over 30 years of dealing with this disability, he approached life with great enthusiasm and courage with the help of his loving wife and family. Allen was much loved by all who knew him, and by his service dogs, Havana, Barnum, and Bonnie. He will be greatly missed. He is survived by his wife, Nancy, three children, Asa, Amy, and Nathan, three grandchildren, his sister, Nancy, and his nieces and nephew.

A private memorial service will be held in Massachusetts. In lieu of flowers, donations in his memory may be made to the Lakes Region Humane Society, PO Box 655, Ossipee, NH 03864.

Dennis Panther, husband of Kathryn Panther (also a Foreign Service Officer, passed away in Sykesville, Maryland on March 20, 2014 at the age of 64.

A native of Spokane, Washington, Dennis attended Washington State University, where he earned a Bachelor’s degree in Forestry and spent summers working for the National Forest Service in Oregon.  He joined the Peace Corps in 1973 and served two years as a forestry volunteer in Niger, West Africa, advising the government on village wood production and green belt management.  It was in Niger that Dennis met his wife, Kathryn, a fellow volunteer.  They were married in Ziguinchor, Senegal, in 1979.  Dennis began his USAID career as a USPSC in 1976, providing technical assistance on U.S. Government forestry projects first in Niger and then in the Casamance Region of southern Senegal.  He was sworn in as a Foreign Service Officer in 1984, and subsequently served at USAID Missions in Niger, Togo, Mali, Ivory Coast, Ethiopia, Egypt, and Uganda, as well as the Africa Bureau in USAID/Washington.  He provided technical assistance and oversight to USAID programs in agriculture, environment, and economic growth.  Prior to his retirement in 2008, Dennis served as the Office Director, Economic Growth, Environment and Agriculture at USAID/Uganda.

Dennis loved the game of golf, spending time with family and friends, traveling, talking to people around the world on his ham radio, reading science fiction novels, and doing crossword puzzles.  He leaves behind his wife Kathryn Panther, son Christopher, and daughter Nicole, all of northern Virginia.

Christopher M. Brown, lifelong international development specialist, fighter for human rights and dedicated family man and friend, died peacefully at his home with family and friends in Lake Placid, New York on March 23, 2014. He was 57 years old.

Shortly after graduating from the Tufts University Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Chris began, with his wife, Betsy, a remarkable more-than-20-year joint career with the United States Agency in Development (USAID). Together, they worked in more than 50 countries across Asia, Africa, the Caribbean and the former Soviet Union on issues of democracy, economic growth, health, food and hunger, and strategic planning. They were a team.

The son of Vince Brown, a senior USAID Mission Director (one of the first development officials appointed during the Marshall Plan), and Francoise Brown, from France, Chris was in many ways born into international development. Raised in Islamabad and Kabul, he learned Urdu and Dari as well as French and English. It was wonderful preparation for one of the greatest contributions of his career, putting schoolbooks in the hands of millions of children across Afghanistan immediately after the fall of the Taliban in Fall 2001. Chris was devoted to educational opportunities in Afghanistan, including the reconstruction of the American University of Afghanistan—which was built on the rubble of his former high school. His dazzling command of languages—he mastered at least seven— allowed him to communicate with so many around the world, to share directly his interest, enthusiasm and energy—and his love of dogs. He received his B. A. from Occidental College, his Masters and Ph. D. in agricultural economics (based on extensive field work in Liberia) from the Fletcher School.

Most importantly, Chris had an infectious zest for life and demonstrated how it is possible to thrive while living with cancer for twenty-three years. He embraced the world with a joy and energy that captured all around him. Kind and generous, he cared deeply for family, friends, and colleagues, and worked throughout his life to build a sense of community, bringing people together in celebration with food, music, and poetry. He loved the outdoors and had a passion for new adventures. An accomplished skier, snowboarder, water skier, wake-boarder, rock climber and kayaker, he surprised us all with his perpetual willingness to try new things—even extending to taking up ballet and giving his first (and only) recital at the age of 50.

A man of great courage and much joy, his faith gave him strength. A devout Christian Scientist, he embraced Judaism as part of his family faith.

Chis is survived by his wife of 34 years, Betsy Hulnick Brown, the CEO and President of Planned Parenthood of the North Country New York; his son Michael Lawrence Brown an attorney in New Orleans, his daughter, Danielle Raymonde Brown, a candidate for a Nurse Practitioner degree from Yale University School of Nursing; his mother, Francoise Brown; brother, Gregory Brown; sister, Valerie Brown Ewins; father and mother-in-law Don and Barbara Hulnick of Tupper Lake, NY and extensive family in the United States and France.

In lieu of flowers the Browns welcome donations to the Rotary Club of Lake Placid, the American University of Afghanistan Scholars Fund (www.AUAF.edu.af/giving/) or Planned Parenthood of the North Country NY (www.ppncny.org). Please note Chris Brown in the byline for any donations. The University is built on the site of the high school in Kabul that Chris attended.

A public memorial service will be held Sunday, March 30th at 11:00 am at M.B. Clark Funeral Home in Lake Placid, NY. Chris’s colleagues at Internews will be hosting a memorial service in his honor to raise funds for a scholarship program at the American University of Afghanistan.  The event will be in the Washington, D.C. area and the date and details will be announced later.

Bill Schoux, beloved husband and father, died peacefully on Friday, March 28, 2014 in Washington D.C. of complications from Alzheimer’s disease. Born in 1940 in Burlingame, California, Bill graduated from Occidental College and embarked on an adventurous life. Bill was a USAID Foreign Service Officer, beginning his career in 1966 in Vietnam working in the provinces and Saigon, and later serving in Latin America and South Asia. After retiring from USAID in 1993, he and his wife founded a consulting firm to work on democratic governance and civil-military cooperation. Driven by his deep-seated belief in the dignity of every person, and their right to freedom and self-determination, he spent his second career working to weaken corruption and strengthen democratic practices, working on projects in Cambodia, Nepal, East Timor, Bosnia, Kosovo, and South Africa, among other places. Bill was diagnosed with dementia in 2009. With the grace and dignity characteristic of him, he responded by becoming an advocate for those with the disease. Working with the Sibley Senior Association, in September 2011, he established Club Memory. Now celebrating two and a half years, the Club offers a social model for people to meet in a safe and welcoming space. He is survived by his loving wife of 21 years, Elise Paylan Schoux, his brother Gilbert and family; his former wife Christina Hussey Schoux; his daughter Christina Schoux Casey, her husband Patrick Casey and granddaughters Genevieve and Clea. Bill was never happier than when sitting down to a good meal and glass of wine with loved ones; we will honor his joie de vivre with a party in celebration of Bill’s life on Saturday, May 17. Please write to xschoux@gmail.com for details. Memorial contributions may be made to the Friends Club at Bradley Presbyterian Church, Bethesda, Maryland, or Club Memory, in care of the Sibley Senior Association at Sibley Hospital, Washington, DC.

Hugh Dwelly died on April 10, 2014 at Fairfax Hospital of a heart attack. He was a retired USAID Foreign Service Officer whose career included tours in Turkey, India, Sri Lanka and Italy. He graduated from Kents Hill School in Readfield, ME in 1950 and went on and graduated from Boston University. Upon retirement, he received the USAID Outstanding Career Achievement Award. Mr. Dwelley maintained close ties to his home village of Islesford on Little Cranberry Island, ME. He and friends founded the Islesford Historical Society to preserve island history. In 2000 he published “A History of Little Cranberry Island Maine”. In 1995 he became an active member of the advisory council of the island institute devoted to the viability of 14 offshore Maine island communities. The James R. Dwelley Scholarship Fund was founded in memory of his grandfather and set up to help graduates of the Cranberry Isles schools get a good high school education. As president of the Maine State Society of Washington, DC Scholarship Foundation, he helped youths throughout Maine with the costs of high education. Survivors include his beloved wife Shirley of 58 years; two sons, James and John (wife, Angie) and grandson, Raymond. He will be buried on Little Cranberry Island.

Mabel W. Clark, 92, who worked for 25 years as a program officer at the U.S. Agency for International Development and a predecessor agency before retiring in 1975, died March 25 at her home in Alexandria, Va. The cause was congestive heart failure, said a stepson-in-law, John Cordyack.

Mrs. Clark, an Alexandria resident, was born Mabel Wernicke in Centralia, Ill. She served in the Navy Waves during World War II and retired from the Navy Reserve in 1981 with the rank of lieutenant commander. During her USAID career, she worked in Washington, Southeast Asia and East Africa. She sat on the Central Union Mission’s board of directors and was a trustee and deacon at Western Presbyterian Church in Washington.

Nuran Kolan who focused her career on international development, died from a sudden illness on April 7, 2014 in Jordan where she was on assignment for an education project. “Nuran appreciated life and things of beauty,” says sister Tufan Kolan. “She fought for the dignity of the individual and had an exceptional ability to get things done. She touched many lives yet was modest about her accomplishments.” Ms. Kolan was born in her beloved Istanbul and completed her studies at the University of Denver. From the start of her career she was an advocate for girls’ education and economic independence. Early in her career, Ms. Kolan created job training programs in Appalachia for mothers and at-risk youth. She then spent 15 years at USAID, creating programs for child immunization, teacher training, and civil society leadership from Africa to newly independent states of the former Soviet Union to Azerbaijan. In parallel, Ms. Kolan served as a Senior Interpreter for the State Department, working with every US President and Secretary of State in meetings with their Turkish counterparts since 1977. Over the last decade, Ms. Kolan focused on the Middle East, in particular Jordan, developing training programs for teachers and NGO leaders. In her full-time work and as a board member of Creative Learning, she was a force in establishing partnerships between schools in the US and the Middle East “She will be remembered for her commitment to development and professionalism,” says Charito Kruvant, the CEO of Creative Associates International. Ms. Kolan is survived by her sister Tufan Kolan and nephew Kerem Kolan; her sister Yesim and brother-in-law Jeff McAleer and nephews Paul and Danny; and an extended family and friends in Turkey. She will be deeply missed by friends and colleagues who knew her well and by the many who benefited from the goodness of her life’s work.

Sidney Weintraub, Dean Rusk Professor Emeritus of the LBJ School of Public Affairs, died on April 10 at the age of 91 in Cuernavaca, Mexico.

Sidney Weintraub had a distinguished career with the U.S. Department of State before coming to the LBJ School in 1976 as the first holder of the endowed Dean Rusk Chair. Among his positions were Chief of Commercial Policy in the State Department, Economic Counselor and Director of the U.S. AID program in Chile, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for International Finance and Development, and Assistant Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development. He was also a tactical interrogator in Europe during World War II and spent a short time working as a journalist.

Professor Weintraub, who had a Ph.D. in economics from the American University, was the founding director of the LBJ School’s Program in U.S.-Mexican Policy Studies.

“Sidney Weintraub was one of the giants in the field of international development,” said Dean Robert Hutchings. “Professor Weintraub was a trailblazer for the School, creating the LBJ School’s Program in U.S.-Mexican Policy Studies and leading the efforts to expand the School’s academic and research focus to encompass international affairs, international development and global economics.”

Professor Weintraub directed a number of policy research projects related to international affairs, including studies of the use of public services by undocumented workers in Texas, the operations of the U.S.-Canada automotive pact, the impact of tourism on Mexico’s economy, and the impact on Texas of free trade with Mexico. In 2006, the Mexican government awarded him the Order of the Aztec Eagle, the highest decoration granted by Mexico to foreigners.

International affairs, particularly issues regarding trade, the international monetary system, and relations between developed and developing nations, were his primary policy interests. He wrote over 100 articles, books, monographs, chapters, and commissioned papers. He was also the author of two mystery novels.

Professor Weintraub was the holder of the William E. Simon Chair in Political Economy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C. for 17 years from 1994 to 2011.