The Foreign Service Journal, February 2013

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | FEBRUARY 2013 65 visit of Jacqueline Kennedy. Mr. Brackman served in Budapest when the U.S. was represented through a legation and Hungarian Cardinal Mind- zenty received political asylum. He liked to tell this story of that time: When the cardinal, who often worked at night, found out that Brackman was good with numbers and also a good typist, he would ring the bell for himon nights when Brackman was on duty at the embassy and ask, “Could I molest you?”The cardinal’s English was self-taught, and what he meant to say was “May I bother you?” In Belgrade, Mr. Brackman joined the diplomatic hunting club and hunted for boar at the hunting grounds of President Tito. Having been born and raised inWest Virginia, he felt very much at home in Nepal. He loved to trek in the Himalayas and trekked to the Everest Base Camp. His assignment in Cairo coincided with the assassination of President Anwar Sadat in 1981, andMr. Brackman participated in the preparations for all the VIPs and presidents attending the funeral. While in Beijing, he helped prepare President Ronald Reagan’s 1984 visit. After a tour at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations in New York in 1991, Mr. Brackman retired with the title of first sec- retary, having received numerous honors and awards for exemplary performance. In retirement, Mr. Brackman accompa- nied his wife, Stella, also a Foreign Service employee, to her posts in Rome, New Delhi, Moscow, Bridgetown and Brussels. He worked as a retiree at the embassies in NewDelhi andMoscow, where he was assigned to train newly hired Russian employees in administrative and budget matters. Mr. Brackman was an enthusiastic sportsman. An avid tennis player, he was a menace at the net. He loved golf and kept working to lower his handicap. In Barbados he played golf daily; he used to say his office hours are “from 7 to 11 at the Rockley Golf Club.” InMoscow he played at the opening of the first golf course and won the initial tournament. He also kept up withmany baseball and football teams and relished discussing games with his grandchildren. Proud of his West Virginia roots, Mr. Brackman loved returning to his home- town to visit family members and to play golf with old friends and nephews. The Brackmans made their home at Watergate at Landmark in Alexandria, Va., where Mr. Brackman was an active member and former president of the Watergate Lions Club and the Watergate tennis group. He battled lung cancer from 2000 to 2005, which stayed in remission until shortly before he passed away. His doctors used to call him “the wonder boy.” Survivors include his wife of 54 years, Stella Brackman, of Alexandria, Va.; their daughter, Gloria Brackman Nussbaum, and son-in-law, Peter Nussbaum, of Westport, Conn., and two grandchildren, Stephanie and Daniel. n Michael Alan Bricker, 54, Foreign Service specialist, died on Oct. 21 inWash- ington, D.C. Mr. Bricker was born on July 22, 1958. He joined the State Department in August 1990, one of the first hearing-impaired members of the Foreign Service. During a 22-year diplomatic career as an infor- mation technology manager, Mr. Bricker served inWarsaw, Monrovia, Seoul (two tours), Kingston, New York with the U.S. Mission to the United Nations, London and Vienna. When diagnosed with cancer earlier in the year, Mr. Bricker had been serving as Embassy Ottawa’s information management officer. Mr. Bricker is remembered by col- leagues and friends for his kindness and good humor, his professional excellence and commitment to diplomacy, and his devotion to family and country. He was also a lifelong champion of people with disabilities. As retired Senior FSO Timothy C. Lawson, who was deputy chief of mission in Seoul when Bricker, on his second Seoul tour, was the deputy information resources management officer, recalls: “He brought creativity, innovation and world-class sup- port to our large operation and to the goals and objectives of the mission. His sense of local Korean dynamics, service standards and technology infrastructure proved pivotal to our success. And this was during some truly trying times for the embassy, the U.S. Army garrison and our alliance with the Republic of Korea.” “But, beyond those challenges,” Lawson continues, “the most commendable and memorable thing about Michael, tome, was his ready concern for the welfare of others—and not just his talented staff. “Despite managing his heavy office workload and studies for a demanding Army War College curriculum, Michael was always quietly committed to a very special group. He was a frequent visitor to a small Seoul orphanage, where he would take the time to visit, play with and present small gifts to Korean children who suffered from severe physical andmental handi- caps and had been largely abandoned by their own families. Michael Bricker became their champion. For the few, like me, who became privy to his special act of compassion, Michael became our cham- pion, too.” At every post, he sought out opportuni- ties to connect with and assist the disabled population. He did volunteer work for the disabled in Poland and at orphanages in Liberia and Korea, and also volunteered at a church in New York City. He was a friend