The Foreign Service Journal, January-February 2016

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2016 91 then assigned as chief of the economic section in Bern, a time the whole family remembers as halcyon years of Euro- pean travel and regular visits with a sister and cousins on the German side of the family. Back in Washington, D.C., from 1968 to 1976, Mr. Smith served as deputy director and economic officer for Spain and Portugal, and later for Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay, making recom- mendations for a program of economic aid to the new revolutionary govern- ment in Portugal—which then-Secre- tary of State Henry Kissinger accepted— and helping navigate the change in relations following the military coup in Argentina. He went on to serve as counselor for commercial affairs in São Paulo and in Brasilia, and as counselor for commer- cial affairs in Mexico City, where he was responsible for the American export promotion program. He next became Latin American trade coordinator for the Los Angeles District Office of the U.S. Department of Commerce. On retiring in 1985, Mr. Smith con- tinued his public service, as president and membership chair of the Topanga Symphony for the next 30 years. He is survived by his wife of 62 years, Gaby, of Woodland Hills, Calif.; four children, son Raymond Smith (and his wife, Suzy) of Newport Beach, R.I., son Mark Smith (and his wife, Tammy) of Spring, Texas, daughter Sylvana Smith of Mebane, N.C., and daughter Diana Smith Merville (and her husband, Brad) of Thousand Oaks, Calif.; and five grandchildren, Leah Merville, Caleb Smith, Braden Merville, Ryan Smith and Travis Merville. Mr. Smith was preceded in death by his parents, Jack and Dee, and one sis- ter, Janet Smith DeMille of Atlanta, Ga. n Christopher Donald Ward, 60, a retired Foreign Service officer with the State Department and the U.S. Informa- tion Agency, died on Oct. 19 at his home in Washington, D.C., of sudden cardiac arrest. Born in Evanston, Ill., in 1955, the son of a Congregational minister and a stage and TV actress, Mr. Ward spent his early years in Yankton, S.D. There his father was president of Yankton Col- lege, founded by his great-grandfather, Joseph Ward. Mr. Ward was very proud of his fam- ily heritage, and often told people of Joseph Ward’s statue in the U.S. Capitol and the fact that Ward Circle in north- west Washington, D.C., was dedicated to his great-great-great-great grand- uncle, Major General Artemas Ward (1727-1800). Mr. Ward met his wife, Saaraliisa Ylitalo, at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wis., before he transferred to Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill. One of the first homes they made together was in Madison, Wis., where he was voted the best DJ in the city on WORT, a listener-sponsored community radio station. In 1985, Mr. Ward began a 24-year career in the Foreign Service, traveling the world with his growing family. He served in Costa Rica twice (1986-1989, 2000-2004), Japan (1990-1995), Peru (1997-2000) and South Africa (2004- 2007), in addition to Washington, D.C. After retiring from the Service in 2009, Mr. Ward taught in the Arlington Public Schools as a full-time substitute teacher at Kenmore Middle School. He was extremely proud of his three children: Vanessa, a Peace Corps Volun- teer in Kyrgyzstan; Heather, who holds a PhD in Marine Biology and studied sexual selection in octopuses at the Uni- versity of Hawaii at Manoa; and Seth, who studied art and graphic design, and now works in the Hollywood film industry. Family members cherish their memories of the passion and spirit of adventure with which Mr. Ward lived every day to its fullest, absorbing the world in every way he could. He had a deep love of knowledge, irony and the absurd in all of the arts, and loved his family above all else. Along the way, he was named “most romantic man” by Isthmus , an alterna- tive weekly paper in Madison, Wis., and was a five-time Jeopardy! champion in 1998. He was also said to bear an uncanny resemblance to Mark Twain. Mr. Ward is survived by his wife, Saaraliisa; three children, Vanessa (and her husband, Tim) of Washington, D.C., Heather of Hawaii, and Seth of Los Angeles, Calif.; and two grandchildren, Sonia and Evelyn of Washington, D.C. The family asks that in lieu of flow- ers donations in Mr. Ward’s memory be made to Blue Ventures, a Marine Life Conservation Association work- ing to create sustainable fisheries in international communities (www. virginmoneygiving.com/SomeoneSpe- cial/ChrisWard) or to Kenmore Middle School’s Library (200 S. Carlin Springs Rd., Arlington VA 22204). n The Journal publishes obituaries of members of the Foreign Service community on receiving a request to do so from an immediate relative or colleague. Write to Journal@afsa.org for more information .