The Foreign Service Journal - January/February 2018

94 JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2018 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL IN MEMORY n JohnMichael “Mike” Davis , 76, a retired Foreign Service officer, died on Oct. 15, 2017, in Nice, France, fromheart failure. Mr. Davis was born on Nov. 29, 1940, and grew up in Oklahoma City, Okla. After a public school education, he attended Wabash College, a small but famous all- male school where he majored in history. To prepare for a career in academia, he then went to Rice University, where he specialized in the American Civil War, and graduated with a Ph.D. in 1967. Mr. Davis’ doctoral thesis was the basis for his book, The Image of Lincoln in the South (University of Tennessee Press, 1971). He taught history at Miami Univer- sity from 1967 to 1971. Though he found teaching history satisfying, Mr. Davis’ appreciation for the writing of George Kennan prompted him to join the Foreign Service in 1971. A political officer, he was posted to France, Vietnam, Syria and Bahrain (where he served as deputy chief of mission). He then served at the U.S. United Nations mis- sion in New York City, as well as in Egypt and Senegal, before returning to the State Department inWashington, D.C. Mr. Davis, who had suffered a stroke in 1991 while posted in Dakar, retired in 1996. Although his activities became limited, his enthusiasm for travel andmeeting new faces was not dampened. He is remembered fondly by his fam- ily andmany friends in the Middle East, France and the United States. Mr. Davis is survived by his wife of 28 years, Dr. Françoise Brucker, of Nice, and by his daughter, Claire Davis, adopted from China; as well as a nephew, Chris Davis, and several cousins in the United States. n Jean TomionHummon, 86, wife of the late retired USAID Foreign Service Offi- cer John Peter Hummon, died on Sept. 9 at Casey House in Rockville, Md., surrounded by her family. The daughter of Walter and Flora Tomion of Fowlerville, Mich., Jean Hum- mon graduated in 1953 from Albion College, where she and her husband-to- be were classmates. The couple married in 1954. Mrs. Hummon worked as an elemen- tary school teacher in Ann Arbor, Mich., while her husband completed graduate studies at the University of Michigan. In 1960, whenMr. Hummon joined the Foreign Service at the U.S. Agency for International Development, the couple embarked on what was to be a three-and- a-half-decade international adventure. Mrs. Hummon and her family lived in Tanzania, Nigeria, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Botswana and Switzerland, return- ing periodically to the Washington, D.C., area. Following her husband’s retirement in 1995, the couple settled in Potomac, Md. Mrs. Hummon served as community liaison officer in Botswana and later volun- teered for 20 years at Miriam’s Kitchen in Washington, D.C. She was a lover of art and literature, and her interests encompassed sports, travel andmusic, as well. WithMr. Hummon, she attended every sporting event, theatrical performance and concert she could. But as family members recall, her most cherished role was raising her four chil- dren. She kept in touch with her children and grandchildren, and relished being with them. When the family gathered, she always made sure favorite foods were stocked for her houseguests. She joyously celebrated holidays, and was known for the collage greeting cards she created from her vast collection of family photos. She lit up the roomwhen she greeted you, her children remember. Mrs. Hummon predeceased her hus- band of 63 years by 26 days. She is survived by their children: Jan Alison Hummon Westman (and her husband, John), Mar- cus Spencer Hummon (and his wife, Becca Stevens), Sarah Tomion Hummon Stevens (and her husband, Brian) and Gretchen Mary Hummon (and her husband, Peter Fry); 12 grandchildren (Matt, Carly, Luke, Levi, Caney, Moses, Tess, Anna, Griffin, Trevor, Phoebe andMalcolm); and her brother, Jack Tomion. The family requests that Jean Hum- mon’s life be honored by performing an act of kindness and, if able, by making a donation toMiriam’s Kitchen (www.miri- amskitchen.org ). n John Peter Hummon, 87, a retired Foreign Service officer with the U.S. Agency for International Development, died on Oct. 5, 2017, in Rockville, Md. Mr. Hummon was born and raised in Ohio and remained a passionate Buckeye all his life. He and his wife, Jean, gradu- ated fromAlbion College in 1953, and he received his Ph.D. in political science and international relations from the University of Michigan in 1958. At college, he sang in the Albion Col- lege Choir and played football, helping the college with the MIAA championship in 1952. He was a member of the Delta Tau Delta fraternity, for which he wrote the song “My Delta Tau Sweetheart.” He received a Distinguished Alumni Award fromAlbion College in 1994. Mr. Hummon joined the Interna- tional Cooperation Administration, the predecessor of USAID, in 1960 as an international relations officer on the East and Southern African affairs desk. In 1964 he and his young family were posted to Tanzania, where Mr. Hummon served as program officer. After completing that tour, the family returned to the Washington, D.C., area and Mr. Hummon served as executive secretary