The Foreign Service Journal, February 2013

66 FEBRUARY 2013 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL and supporter of St. Jude’s Hospital, moved by its promise never to turn a child away. His story, “Ten for a Dollar,” included in the new edition of Inside a U.S. Embassy, reveals Mr. Bricker’s compassionate involvement with the less fortunate in the countries to which he was posted. Mr. Bricker was also a pioneer in the State Department, working to boost the image of persons with disabilities and goading the department to take a leader- ship role inmaking the working environ- ment equitable. In a Speaking Out column for The Foreign Service Journal (January 2011), “Welcoming the Disabled to the Foreign Service,” Mr. Bricker heralded State’s initia- tive to actively recruit disabled employees in conformance with Executive Order 13548, which called for an additional 100,000 individuals with disabilities to be employed by the federal government. Considering what advice to give a disabled applicant to the Foreign Service, he reviewed his own experiences—both personally and as an advocate for “reason- able accommodations” for the disabled at State—with candor and humility. After noting that a career in the Foreign Service offers adventure and the opportunity to meet fascinating people and be part of history, Mr. Bricker acknowledged that anyone struggling to overcome the limita- tions of a particular disability will also meet disappointment and frustration. “When it comes to accommodating the disabled, the Foreign Service is not yet ready for prime time,” he concluded. But he added that he looks forward to the day when it is. Michael Bricker is survived by his mother; his wife, Shereen; and their 14-year-old daughter, Sabrina. Amemorial Web site (http://michael. bricker.muchloved.com) ha s been created inMichael Bricker’s honor. Those wishing to remember himmay send donations to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital or the Ameri- can Lung Association. n Ernest J. Colton, 96, a retired FSO with the U.S. Information Agency, died on Oct. 25 at Greenspring Retirement Com- munity in Springfield, Va. He had emphy- sema. Ernst Kohen was born in Berlin, Ger- many, in 1916 and immigrated in the late 1930s to New York, where he changed his name to Ernest Jack Colton. He joined the U.S. Army in the 1930s and later served in the reserves. After serving as an Army intelligence officer in Europe during and after World War II, Mr. Colton worked as an infor- mation officer for U.S. consulates in the early 1950s. He joined USIA when it was founded in 1953. During the 1950s and 1960s, he served as a public affairs and broadcast officer in Germany, Austria and South Africa. He was director of the U.S. cultural center in Berlin from 1966 to 1968 and retired from USIA in 1972. Mr. Colton returned to Germany in 1974 as director of the Amerika Haus binational center in Freiburg, serving until 1978. A longtime Springfield resident, Mr. Colton enjoyed gardening and photogra- phy. Mr. Colton’s wife of 55 years, Ruth Lit- ten Colton, died in 2001, and he moved to Greenspring the next year. Survivors include two children, David M. Colton (and his wife, Cheryl Anne) of Alexandria, and Esther Colton of Berlin; and a granddaughter, Alexis, of Alexandria. n J anet Murray Fiske , 99, wife of the late FSO John C. Fiske, died on Nov. 13 at her home in the Vashon Community Care Center, Vashon, Wash., where she had lived for three years. She was 10 days from her 100th birthday. Janet Fiske was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, one of five children of Frederick G. and Janette S. Murray. She graduated fromCoe College in Cedar Rapids, and traveled and worked in France and Greece before earning a master of arts degree from Columbia University. In 1940, she married John C. Fiske, who worked in naval intelli- gence during and after WorldWar II in the United States andMoscow. They then lived in the Boston area, Iowa andWashington, D.C. In 1957, Mr. Fiske joined the U.S. For- eign Service and, during the next 13 years, the couple was posted to Dhaka, Heidel- berg, Kinshasa, Bremen and Reykjavik. Mr. Fiske retired as cultural attaché in Reykjavik in 1970, and the couple settled in Moscow, Idaho. There, Mr. Fiske taught French at the University of Idaho, andMrs. Fiske embarked on a career of civic activism. She helped the city build its first recycling center, reclaimParadise Creek as “the city’s waterfront,” and develop bicycle and walking trails. She also led efforts to pre- serve the old post office that now houses City Hall, the Carnegie Library and the 1912 Center with its Fiske Family Meeting Room. As a longtime member of the Moscow chapter of the League of Women Voters, Janet Fiske started annual fundraisers, packaging and selling peas and lentils. The couple was also active in local Democratic politics. Mrs. Fiske co-authored two books with her mother, Hurrah for Bonnie Iowa and Bonnie Iowa Farm Folk , about the early days of her Iowa pioneer forebears. In 2006, MoscowMayor Nancy Chaney declared a day in Janet Fiske’s honor, in recognition of her contributions to the community over the years. Mr. andMrs.