74 JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2025 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL His first international stint was teaching economics at Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria, Nigeria, where eldest son Matthew was born. Second son Richard moved with the family as an infant when Mr. Cohen accepted a Fulbright teaching fellowship in Kathmandu, and the family moved to Arusha with Development Alternatives, a New Delhi–based nonprofit. Their international lifestyle now decided, Mr. Cohen joined the United States Agency for International Development as an economist in 1980, serving first in Washington, D.C., and then overseas in Mbabane, Colombo, Kathmandu, Nairobi, and Pretoria. Mr. Cohen retired as an FSO in 2000 but continued with USAID as part of President G.W. Bush’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) to combat AIDS in Africa. Mr. and Ms. Cohen moved to Gainesville, Fla., in 2006 to live near son Matthew; his wife, Leah; and their three grandchildren. Mr. Cohen continued short assignments overseas, including in Afghanistan, Yemen, and Cambodia. Overseas travel enriched their lives, including a Himalayan trek, taking teenage grandsons to southern Africa, attending the Edinburgh Festival, and exploring Portugal. As Mr. Cohen’s health worsened, he and his wife still managed trips to New York City with friends, attending the Metropolitan Opera theater and dance performances. Mr. Cohen was a runner and biker, racing for pleasure and good causes, from ultramarathons to charity events. His haul of medals and trophies lines his study, but it was always about being outdoors with friends and testing his own limits. He followed the news and read nonfiction. He was a proud Rotarian and Fulbright board member. Mr. Cohen was predeceased by his parents, Aaron and Edna; brother Jeff; and beloved second son Richard. He leaves friends across the globe and his loving family—Jan, Matthew, Leah, and grandchildren Sawyer, Grady, and Calyra. Mr. Cohen donated his body to medical research. n Sheldon Jack Krys, 90, an ambassador and career Foreign Service officer, died on Oct. 18, 2024. Born in New York on June 15, 1934, Mr. Krys graduated from Coolidge High School in Washington, D.C., and the University of Maryland. He went on to work in radio, public relations, and for John F. Kennedy’s presidential campaign. He joined the U.S. Foreign Service in 1962. Throughout his years at the State Department, he held several notable positions, including U.S. ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago, assistant secretary of State for administration, and assistant secretary for diplomatic security. He played a vital role in bringing both the Canadian and American hostages home from Iran in 1981. Mr. Krys received a State Department Distinguished Honor Award and the Presidential Meritorious Service Award. He served six years on the Peabody Awards Board of Jurors, serving as board chair from 1993 to 1995. He received an honorary PhD from St. John Fisher College in 1996. Friends recall his intellect and wry humor, as well as his ability to connect with people from all walks of life. He will be greatly missed by all who knew him. Mr. Krys was predeceased by his beloved wife of nearly 50 years, Doris Krys (née de Hemptinne). He is survived by his children, Wendy Calvert (and spouse Scott), Madeleine Menashe (and spouse Jack), and Susan Krys (and spouse Ken Bocam), and grandchildren Ella Krys Menashe and Edouard “Teddy” Bocam. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Senior Living Foundation of the American Foreign Service or to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. n Thresia Martino, 95, a former Foreign Service executive assistant, passed away on Aug. 29, 2024. Ms. Martino was born on Nov. 3, 1928, in Clarksburg, W.Va., the youngest of 14 children and a coal miner’s daughter. She began her government service in 1950 working for the U.S. Information Agency (USIA) in Washington, D.C., as a civil servant. In the early 1960s, she went on to serve at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations in New York, where she was the executive secretary for three USIA representatives: Edward Stanbury, Fitzhugh Green, and Frankie Childers. While working at the UN, Ms. Martino recalled seeing famous figures such as Eleanor Roosevelt and the former Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir, who was smoking a cigarette in the UN lounge, she remembered. She often told relatives that the UN was an exciting place to work during a time of heightened Cold War tensions. After the UN, Ms. Martino went to work in Washington for Richard T. Davies, USIA’s assistant director for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. In the summer of 1971, she traveled outside the United States for the first time as part of a USIA inspection team to Japan and Hong Kong with the American author James Michener. The purpose of the monthlong trip was to build cultural ties with Japan. The trip
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