The Foreign Service Journal, March 2010

78 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / M A R C H 2 0 1 0 Smith (and his wife, Alison) of Min- neapolis, Minn.; two grandchildren, Molly Smith and Dillon Smith; a niece, Vicky Tourbin; and a nephew, Brian Smith. Donations in Jim Smith’s name may be made to the University of Michigan Wrestling Program, c/o The Victor’s Club, 1000 South State Street, Ann Arbor MI 48109, or to the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation, 1359 Broadway, Suite 1509, New York NY 10018. Wells Stabler , 90, a retired FSO and former ambassador, died on Nov. 13 at Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington, D.C., of heart failure. Mr. Stabler was born in Boston, Mass. He attended The Fay School in Southboro, Mass., and graduated from Brooks School in North Andover, Mass., in 1937. He then attended Harvard University, graduating in 1941 and joining the Foreign Service later that year. In 1942, Mr. Stabler was posted to Jerusalem as a vice consul. He was then sent to open the first American mission in Amman, where he became chargé d’affaires and a close friend of King Abdullah, great-grandfather of King Abdullah II of Jordan. Israel’s declaration of independ- ence in 1948 had provoked turmoil and bloodshed, including the assassi- nation of Count Folke Bernadotte, a United Nations mediator, and the mur- der of U.S. Consul General Thomas C. Wasson. During this tense period, Mr. Stabler was praised for his heroism in protecting American lives and prop- erty. Later in his career, Mr. Stabler was the first American diplomat to visit Sudan after that country won its independence in 1954 from Britain and Egypt. Other assignments took Mr. Stabler to Rome, Paris and posts in the Euro- pean Bureau of the State Department in Washington, D.C. In 1972, he be- came the principal deputy in the Eu- ropean Bureau, where he carried out special missions for Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, including one involv- ing Cyprus. As a result of this, Sec. Kissinger persuaded President Gerald Ford to name Mr. Stabler ambassador to Spain. He arrived in Madrid in 1975, a critical time for Spain, with the end of the Franco era and the transition to King Juan Carlos. Ambassador Sta- bler was instrumental in helping steer Spain toward democracy and mem- bership in NATO, and eventually the European Union. After retiring in the fall of 1978, Amb. Stabler worked for the German Marshall Fund in Washington, D.C., and carried out several important in- spections for the State Department. He received the prestigious Wilbur Carr Award from the State Depart- ment, as well as many decorations from countries where he served. He was also a member of the Metropoli- tan and Chevy Chase Clubs and a Knight of Justice in The Venerable Order of The Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem, where he also served as vice chancellor. Survivors include his wife of 56 years, Emily Atkinson Stabler of Washington, D.C.; two daughters, Elizabeth Wells Stabler of Annapolis, Md., and Susan Paneyko (and her hus- band, Stephen) of Princeton, N.J.; two sons, Edward (and his wife, Anne) of Manchester-by-the-Sea, Mass., and Eric (and his wife, Tracy) of Summit, N.J.; and 12 grandchildren. ■ I N M E M O R Y WWW.FSJOURNAL.ORG When contacting an advertiser, kindly mention the Foreign Service Journal. Click on the Marketplace tab on the marquee AFSA Legacy www.afsa.org AKA stay-aka.com Arlington Court Suites Hotel arlingtoncourthotel.com Clements International clements.com Cort Furniture cort1.com Diplomatic Auto. Sales diplosales.com Fox Hill foxhillseniorcondominium.com Georgetown Suites sales@georgetownsuites.com Hirshorn Company, The hirshorn.com ProMax promaxrealtors.com Property Specialists propertyspecialistsinc.com SDFCU sdfcu.org Strategic Studies Quarterly au.af.mil/au/ssq Tetra Tech tetratech.com WJD wjdpm.com