Archive | 2016

Michael Feldstein passed away in his home in Washington D.C. April 13, surrounded by friends and neighbors.

Mike’s life and adventures wholly encapsulate the Peace Corps mission of promoting world peace and friendship. In 1963, Mike joined Peace Corps Ethiopia II, and served two years in Dire Dawa establishing adult education programs. The skills he learned and experiences he had while serving in Ethiopia paved the way for what followed. He spent several decades working for the Agency for International Development and the Department of State, helping to set up and run programs to provide relief to those affected by war, poverty, and rights abuses in Southeast Asia, Southern and West Africa, and Latin America.

In retirement, Mike threw himself into service as a long time Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner and founding president of the Dupont Festival organization. Mike will be best remembered for his talent in bringing people together– including neighbors, business-people, city and federal officials, and community groups — and for his unique mix of charm, vision, light-heartedness, and persistence.   Every shopkeeper, sales clerk, waiter, and busboy knew Mike, and he knew them and how their families were doing.

The world, the District, and Mike’s neighborhood felt a little smaller because of his knack for creating friendships and collaboration.

Charles Blankstein, a career foreign service officer with U.S. Agency for International Development, Latin America, died of congestive heart failure on April 30 in Washington DC. He was 80. He is survived by his wife Lucy; daughter Amy; son Andrew; a daughter-in-law Beth and granddaughter Emma.

Neil McDonald Kester passed away on July 1st, 2016 in Cary, North Carolina following an 18 month fight with glioblastoma (brain cancer). Neil is survived by his wife Leyla S. Kester his four children Emily Kester, Erin Brady, Grace and Evelyn. He is also survived by his siblings Norma, Jim, Joyce, Susan and Bruce and their families.

Neil was born in Wawanesa Manitoba, Canada in April of 1958. He was one of six children born of Dr. Norman and Evelyn Kester. Emily and Erin were born from his marriage to Kimberley McNeil; they divorced in 1997. Neil married Leyla Gaytan Kawas in 2005. Born to them in Honduras were Grace, now 10 years old, and Evelyn, now 9. The family lives in Apex, North Carolina.

Neil greatly loved Leyla and his four children. Neil valued his employment, first as a Peace Corps volunteer in Zaire, and then 28 years of service with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). He really enjoyed how his work with USAID provided rich experiences for him and his children. He joined as an administrative officer for USAID in Washington in 1987. He was posted to Cairo, Egypt the following year. He served next in Nairobi, Kenya starting in 1991. Following in 1995, Neil was posted to Amman, Jordan, and then transferred to Washington in 1997. Neil was then posted to the recently liberated Kosovo in 1999, where he worked in Pristina until 2001. After a 2001 assignment in Kingston, Jamaica, Neil was posted in Tegucigalpa, Honduras between 2002 and 2007. He met Leyla in Honduras, where their two daughters were born. The family moved in 2007 to Tbilisi, Georgia where Neil also covered Azerbaijan. Between 2009 and 2013, Neil was posted in Cairo for a second time, and also covered USAID administrative matters in Lebanon and Yemen. His last overseas post was Maputo, Mozambique in 2014. He was medically evacuated from Maputo with symptoms that were later diagnosed in the U.S. as glioblastoma brain cancer.

Overseas, on postings and short-term visit, Neil enjoyed the languages he studied, including French, Swahili, Arabic, Spanish and Portuguese. In 2012, Neil was promoted to Senior Foreign Service Officer.

Neil was raised Protestant, but joined Leyla as a formal member of the Roman Catholic Church in 2015.*

Norman W. Mosher died peacefully on June 28, 2016 at Goodwin House Bailey”s Crossroads, Falls Church, Virginia. He is survived by his wife Marcie; and children David (Ann) and Beth (Eike); grandchildren, Tom, Emily, Molly, Adam and Garland.

Norman was born in Portland, Maine, in 1922 and grew up in Belfast, Maine. He attended the University of Maine and, after graduating in 1943, served in the U.S. Army. He was one of the few in his unit who was not captured, wounded, or killed as the group made its way from Cherbourg, France to Czechoslovakia by the war”s end.

Norman returned to do graduate work in economics and International Relations at the University of Maine and then the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. He worked in the Office of Intelligence and Research in the U.S. State Department before helping to found Associates for International Research.

After receiving a Ford Grant to conduct economic research in Ghana, West Africa, he worked with the U.S. Agency for International Development. He served with the U.S. Aid Mission in Nigeria and then with the American Delegation to the Asian Development Bank in Manila, the Philippines. For his work he travelled widely in West Africa and Southeast Asia.

Norman was a devoted reader and enjoyed sailing, camping, canoeing and following political issues. In retirement he learned new woodworking skills and designed and built furniture.

On Saturday, July 23, 2016, Francis X. Hartman of Silver Spring, MD. Beloved husband of the late Jean R. Hartman; father of Michael Hartman (Andrea Baridon), Kathleen Townley (Joseph), and Christopher Hartman; grandfather of Kayleen, Christina, Bethany, and Nicholas Townley; predeceased by his brother Louis Hartman and sister Patricia Day.

A lifelong Washingtonian, Fran served in the U.S. Army during World War II, and fought in the Battle of the Bulge. He later worked as a Federal government accountant, with many years at the State Department and its Agency for International Development. During his happy and lengthy retirement, he enjoyed playing competitive duplicate bridge, attending musical performances, and watching Washington baseball and football.

Peter Geithner died peacefully on July 29, 2016, at home in Orleans, Massachusetts with his children and grandchildren in his presence. Born July 14, 1932 to Paul H. Geithner and Henriette Schuck Geithner in Philadelphia, he graduated with a B.A. from Dartmouth College in 1954 and served for four years as a Naval Aviator.

After receiving an M.A. from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, Peter joined Columbia Carbon International and then spent six years at the U.S. Agency for International Development in Zimbabwe, Zambia (then the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland) and Washington, DC. He worked for almost three decades at the Ford Foundation, where helped shape programs in support of education, public health, human rights, and economic development. At the Ford Foundation, he served as the Deputy Representative for India, the Representative for Southeast Asia, Program Officer in Charge of Developing Country Programs, and the Foundation’s first representative in China. Peter served as advisor to the Asia Center at Harvard University, China Medical Board, Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, and other organizations. He served on the Boards of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations, China Center for Economic Research, Center for the Advanced Study of India, and other organizations. He was devoted to his colleagues and friends throughout the world and to their aspirations and causes.

With his family, he shared his love of basketball and tennis, the ocean, and chocolate, commitment to public service, and fascination with the broader world. Peter was married for 54 years to Deborah Moore Geithner until her death in 2014. He is survived by his brother Paul H. Geithner, Jr., his son Timothy and his wife Carole, his daughter Sarah, his son Jonathan and his wife Debora, his son David and his wife Christine; and his grandchildren, Elise, Benjamin, Kaiya, Lincoln, Peter, Clare, Caroline, Piya and Malee.*

William B. Clatanoff, 72, a labor and trade specialist who retired in 2005 as assistant U.S. trade representative for labor, an office he had held four years, died July 13 at a hospice center in Pasadena, Md. The cause was complications from cancer, said his wife, Katherine Clatanoff.

Mr. Clatanoff, an Annapolis native and resident, entered government service in 1974. He was a USAID officer in Egypt, deputy director of the D.C. Department of Employment Services, and adviser to Bahrain’s Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs before joining the U.S. Labor Department in 1984.

Later he was a labor officer at the U.S. embassy in Tokyo, a United Nations labor officer in Geneva and a labor and social affairs adviser in Baghdad.

Joseph Freedman, formerly of Washington, DC and Bethesda, MD, died at his home in Melbourne, FL on Thursday morning July 21, 2016 at the age of 92.

Joseph was born in Brighton, MA 1923. He was predeceased by his beloved wife of 43 years, Emily Feltman Freedman. Joseph graduated from the Boston Latin School (1940), the Georgia Institute of Technology (1943, B.S. Public Health Engineering), University of North Carolina (1946, MSC, Sanitary Engineering),Harvard University (SM, Sanitary Engineering), and Special Studies in Groundwater Development at the University of Minnesota. He was a registered Professional Engineer (PE) in MA and a Captain in the United States Public Health Services.

Joseph was employed by various international organizations including the World Health Organization/Pan American Health Organization, USAID, the Inter-American Development Bank and the World Bank. He had a rich lifetime of work bringing water supply, sanitation, and pollution control programs to people in rural villages and large urban cities in many regions of the world. He established some of the first PAHO/WHO offices, helped organize a National Ministry of Health and developed a national village water supply program with UNICEF and CARE.

Joseph loved to tell stories of his travels, and entertained friends and family with his many adventures. He was also a gifted polyglot – we are unsure of how many languages he actually spoke. He is survived by his daughter Susan Freedman-Noa, granddaughter Sarah Elizabeth Noa, son-in-law Alex Noa and numerous nieces and nephews and friends.

Miriam Harriet Labbok, MD, MPH, IBCLC, staunch crusader for the health of women and infants and longtime advocate for the health benefits of breastfeeding, passed away during the early morning hours of Aug. 13 after a courageous battle with cancer.

From 2006 to 2016, she was Professor of the Practice of maternal and child health at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health and founding director of the Gillings School’s Carolina Global Breastfeeding Institute (CGBI).

Dr. Labbok enjoyed an illustrious career in academics and in national and international government agency service. After earning Doctor of Medicine and Master of Public Health degrees at the Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, in New Orleans, she worked as a medical officer for five years with the U.S. Agency for International Development, in Washington, D.C.

From 1981 to 1987, she served on the faculty of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Hygiene and Public Health. At Georgetown University, from 1987 to 1996, she was a faculty member in obstetrics and gynecology, director of the breastfeeding and maternal and child health division in the Institute for Reproductive Health, and director of the World Health Organization’s Collaborating Center on Breastfeeding.

Prior to coming to UNC, she was chief of the nutrition and maternal/infant health division in the global bureau of the U.S. Agency for International Development (1996-2001) and senior adviser for infant and young child feeding and care at UNICEF (2001-2005).

Dr. Labbok was recruited as the founding director of the Gillings School’s Carolina Global Breastfeeding Institute. An anonymous donor’s generous gift established the center in 2006 with an intent to advance global research about the health benefits of breastfeeding and to educate women and families about the value of breastfeeding for infants and young children.

In the months preceding her death, Dr. Labbok experienced an outpouring of gratitude and support, not only from friends and associates but also from organizations whose members prized her many contributions to the field of maternal and child health.

In July, she was honored with the International Lactation Consultant Association’s Journal of Human Lactation Patricia Martens Award for Excellence in Breastfeeding Research, the Crystal Rose award from Reaching Our Sisters Everywhere, an organization that aims to address breastfeeding disparities among people of color, and the U.S. Breastfeeding Committee’s Legacy Award.

“Miriam was a passionate scientist and advocate for the health of women and children around the globe,” said Carolyn Halpern, PhD, professor and chair of the Gillings School’s maternal and child health department. “The Department of Maternal and Child Health was extremely fortunate to have her as a member of our faculty. Her leadership in building the Carolina Global Breastfeeding Institute is only one of the many, many important legacies of her work.”

“Miriam was a tireless advocate for women’s, children’s and families’ health – here and the world over,” agreed Herbert Peterson, MD, W.R. Kenan Distinguished Professor of maternal and child health, and of obstetrics and gynecology in the UNC School of Medicine. “Her commitment to breastfeeding was unsurpassed, as was her devotion to those we serve. She will be deeply missed, but she leaves behind a powerful legacy that will have an impact on public health for years to come.”

Peterson expressed gratitude that Dr. Labbok was able to celebrate the recent 10th anniversary of CGBI, which he called “the world-class academic center that she founded and led and which has had such important impact on breastfeeding policies, programs and practices globally, nationally and locally.”

Barbara K. Rimer, DrPH, dean and Alumni Distinguished Professor at the Gillings School, called Dr. Labbok “an incredible force for improving the health of mothers and babies.”

“She brought her passion for and knowledge about breastfeeding to our School and North Carolina, and she set in place the critical pieces of a strategy to improve the health of people in North Carolina and around the world,” Rimer said. “She was generous in sharing her wisdom and a very generous donor to the School. We will miss her.”

Lloyd Jonnes (“Doc”) died peacefully in his sleep on March 1, 2016 at Springwell Senior Living Community in Baltimore, Maryland. Predeceased by his wife Marilyn May Alley Jonnes. He is survived by his son Michael; his daughter, Jill; his son, Denis; his grandson, Nathaniel Jonnes; and his granddaughters, Gwyneth Jonnes, Hilary Ross, and Elisha Jonnes. All will miss him dearly.

Born on February 6, 1924, Lloyd grew up in Circleville, Ohio, graduating from Circleville High School in 1941. He attended Hobart College, where he captained the lacrosse team, before enlisting in the US Army in 1943. He served with distinction in the 318th Regiment, 80th Infantry Division from August 1944 to November 1945. After landing at Normandy, he was in campaigns that included the Battle of Falaise-Argentan Gap, Battle of the Bulge, and the sweep through Germany-Bitburg, Mainz, Kassel, Nuremberg and Regensburg. He was awarded the Purple Heart and the Silver Star.

Upon his discharge, he returned to college, receiving a BA from Antioch College in 1948. In the same year, he married Marilyn May Alley, a fellow student, in Atlanta, Georgia, where they were interns with the National Labor Relations Board.

Following a year at the University of Zurich, he took a position with the Economic Recovery Program (Marshall Plan) in Berne, Switzerland. In 1953, he was assigned to the Economic Cooperation Administration office (ECA) in Vienna, Austria. In 1956, he moved to the ECA office in London, and in 1957 was transferred to the International Cooperation Administration (ICA) office in Tripoli, Libya, with a move a year later to Benghazi. In 1959, he returned to Washington, DC as Desk Officer in the Department of State for Yugoslavia, Spain and Poland. From 1961, he was a member of the Development Assistance Committee (OECD) in Paris. Between 1964 to 1967, he served as a USAID Program Officer in Ankara, Turkey. After a year as Fellow at the Center for International Relations, Harvard University, he was appointed Economic Counselor to the US Embassy in Saigon, followed by a move to the newly-founded USAID mission in Djakarta, Indonesia. Returning to Washington in 1970 in USAID”s Bureau for Program and Policy Coordination, he was promoted to Assistant Deputy Administrator of the agency. After a brief retirement, he was appointed by President Jimmy Carter as US Representative to the Development Assistant Committee (OECD) in Paris.

Following retirement in 1980, he undertook graduate studies in Greek and Latin, receiving a PhD in 1992 from Catholic University. The results of his epigraphical fieldwork covering Greek sites in Anatolia were published in two volumes by the Austrian Academy of Sciences. He collaborated with the print-maker John Ross on the prize-winning volume Birds of Manhattan. He also published a collection of ancient Greek maxims. Lloyd was an accomplished bridge player, and made his mark as skier, tennis player and golfer. An avid hiker, fisherman and birdwatcher, he and his wife Lyn frequently participated in Audubon Society counts of migratory birds. A soldier, scholar, dedicated civil servant, he was a gifted speaker and conversationalist.

The family and many friends that he and Lyn welcomed into their DC home in Adams Morgan will miss his energy, humor, and deep springs of wit and wisdom.