The Foreign Service Journal, January-February 2015

82 JANUARY FEBRUARY 2015 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL wife, Debra) of Altoona, Pa.; and nephews, nieces and friends. n Alfred Reifman , 95, a retired FSO and senior specialist in international economics, died of pneumonia on Oct. 15 at an assisted living facility in Chevy Chase, Md. Mr. Reifman was born and raised in Elizabethtown, N.J. His father delivered milk from a horse-drawn cart and was an avid reader, encouraging Mr. Reifman to read and learn. Every Saturday he walked several miles to the library, returning with an armful of books. He graduated from the University of Michigan with an undergraduate and a master’s degree with honors and distinction in mathematics and economics. Mr. Reifman served inWorld War II in England and with the OSS in France. He moved to Washington, D.C., in the early 1940s and joined the State Department in 1946. He was intimately involved in major U.S. international economic initiatives including development of the Marshall Plan, establishment of the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development, the evolution of U.S. trade policy through the General Agreement on Tari s and Trade and, more generally, reform of the international monetary system. During a 26-year Foreign Service career, Mr. Reifman served in Paris, where he helped implement the Marshall Plan, and, during the 1960s, was chief econo- mist for the U.S. Mission to OECD. He served on the Council of Economic Advisers from 1952 to 1953 and from 1965 to 1967, where he wrote the international chapters of the President’s Economic Report. In 1972, Mr. Reifman graciously changed jobs to support his wife, Lucille, in her own distinguished federal govern- ment career, joining the Congressional Research Service as a senior specialist in international economics. For 24 years, he continued his passion for international economic policy and his love of government service, writing for Congress on legislative issues in interna- tional economic policy. He also taught seminars on foreign economic policy at Yale, Duke and American universities. In addition to a rich and ful lling career, Mr. Reifman was a founding mem- ber of the Bannockburn Community in Bethesda, Md. In 1957, he was an origina- tor of the Bannockburn Spring Show, a community theater that pokes fun at social and political issues through song and skit. With Mr. Reifman’s perseverance, hard work, warmth, open spirit and a bit of friendly arm-twisting, the show never missed a year and is now one of the longest-running community theater performances in the country. “Mr. Bannockburn Show,” as he was sometimes called, loved the show and understood its value as an expression of community spirit. Mr. Reifman played tennis three times a week until he was 90 and won many tournaments in his advanced years at his summer home in Eastham, Mass. A vital and generous man who loved life, he was passionate about learning, service to others, his family and his com- munity of Bannockburn. As one person described, “Al Reifman never got o an elevator without making a friend.” Mr. Reifman was predeceased by his wife of 72 years, Dr. Lucille Reifman, and his daughter, Elizabeth. Survivors include two daughters, Dr. Ann Reifman and Kath- erine Reifman, and three grandsons. n David T. Schneider , 91, a retired FSO and former ambassador to Bangladesh, died on Sept. 24 in Charles Town, W. Va. Mr. Schneider was born on Nov. 20, 1922, in Glendale, Ohio, and spent most of his early years inWinchester, Mass. He interrupted pursuit of a degree in political science from Yale University to join the United States Army Air Force, serving as a pilot during World War II, ying B-24 and B-29 bombers and training ights for B-29 gunners. After the war, he graduated with honors from Yale. Mr. Schneider joined the Foreign Ser- vice in 1950, specializing in South Asian a airs. He served twice in both India (Mumbai and New Delhi) and Pakistan (Karachi and Islamabad). While chargé d’a aires in New Delhi, he was the rst foreigner to be informed by the Indians that they had detonated a nuclear device, which heralded the India-Pakistan nuclear arms race. In 1966 and 1967 he attended the National War College. Subsequently he served as deputy assistant secretary of State for South Asia, with particular expertise in Indian and Pakistani a airs, and was senior deputy in the Bureau of Near Eastern and South Asian A airs at the time of the 1983 bomb- ing of the Marine Corps barracks and the U.S. embassy in Beirut. In 1978, President Jimmy Carter appointed Mr. Schneider ambassador to Bangladesh, where he served for three years. After a 33-year diplomatic career, Mr. Schneider retired from the Foreign Service in 1983 with the rank of CareerMinister. He served as chairman of the Foreign Service Journal Editorial Board, andwas a retiree representative on the American Foreign Service AssociationGoverning Board. An avid sailor, Mr. Schneider often raced sailboats where he was posted. He also skied with friends in Colorado yearly until well into his 80s. Mr. Schneider and his wife, the former Ann Scannell, whom he married in 1950, retired to Washing-