THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | MARCH-APRIL 2026 75 Together, the couple raised a family while serving overseas in Canada, Chad, Rwanda, Pakistan, and Liberia. After retiring in 1996, he served another 10 years on the State Department’s political-military action team. Mr. Hester also remained closely connected to American University, serving as an adjunct professor, a founding member of AU’s Friends of the Library, and a member of the Library Council. A lifelong musician, Mr. Hester devoted 47 years of his life to the City of Fairfax Band as a euphonium player. He participated in countless indoor and outdoor concerts, as well as the Fourth of July parades. He enjoyed the camaraderie of his bandmates and relished providing the gift of music to his community. Mr. Hester leaves behind his loving wife of 56 years, Ingrid (née Weiss) Hester; children Karen Abrams (and spouse Tim) of Washington, D.C., and Nicole Hester of St. Augustine Fla.; grandchildren Claire, Daphne, and Oliver; brothers Richard Hester of Coeymans Hollow, N.Y., and John Hester (and spouse Elaine) of Greenville S.C.; niece Katie; and nephews Erich and Jonathan. n Edward John Hinker, 84, a retired Foreign Service officer, passed away peacefully on February 14, 2025, in Arlington, Va. Born in Chamberlain, S.D., Mr. Hinker was the son of a family who valued education and community. In 1963 he graduated from the College of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minn., with a bachelor’s degree in German and a Minnesota Secondary Teaching Certificate. Mr. Hinker then taught German language and culture, as well as U.S. and world history, in Minnesota junior and senior high schools. Even early in his career, he reflected deeply on the value of teaching. In 1969 Mr. Hinker joined the U.S. Foreign Service. As a State public diplomacy officer, he served in West Germany at Bonn, Frankfurt, West Berlin, and Munich, where he became director of the Amerika Haus, a major U.S. cultural and information center. There he organized lectures, exhibitions, and performances that brought together Americans and Germans with shared cultural interests. He also arranged visits by individuals from around the world, including celebrities, orchestras, Apollo astronauts, and renowned opera singer Jessye Norman. During the 1972 Munich Olympics, Mr. Hinker invited U.S. track and field athlete Jesse Owens to speak about his 1936 Olympic experience. Returning to Washington, Mr. Hinker served in the United States Information Agency’s Office of Public Liaison. He coordinated the agency’s public programs, media outreach, and awards; edited the USIA Newswire; and organized public briefings and seminars designed to help Americans understand the role of diplomacy in foreign policy. In 1997 he retired as chief of the Public Programs Branch in the Office of Public Liaison. As a young man, Mr. Hinker had spent a summer crisscrossing Europe with his brother, Ron, in a Volkswagen. Later, through family connections and his Foreign Service career, he traveled to every continent, visiting destinations from Egypt’s Valley of the Kings to China, India, Southeast Asia, Oman, Africa, and South America. A favorite family memory was celebrating the new millennium on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, followed by adventures in Sydney and New Zealand. One of his final journeys was a photo safari in Tanzania. At home in Arlington, Va., Mr. Hinker found joy in the company of friends, classical music, Shakespeare, live theater, cooking for others, and quiet afternoons on his garden patio with his beloved cats. An animal lover, he regularly volunteered at the local shelter. To his family, Mr. Hinker was not only an uncle and brother, but a cherished companion and mentor. Christmas was never complete without Uncle Eddie’s storytelling and his annual reading of The Night Before Christmas. Mr. Hinker is survived by his brother, Ron; sister Kay; nieces Danielle, Liesl, and Devon; great niece Eloise; and great nephews Kyle, Garrett, and Oliver. Because he requested there be no memorial, anyone who wishes to leave a remembrance may make a donation in his name to the Animal Welfare League of Arlington at www.awla.org. n Sheldon Krebs, 83, a retired Senior Foreign Service officer, died on August 12, 2025, in Washington, D.C., from the effects of a stroke. Mr. Krebs was born in New York City on January 30, 1942, to Charles and Beatrice Krebs. Growing up in Brooklyn and Queens, where he attended primary and secondary school, he developed an interest in theater, books, and the arts, as well as following the Yankees. He went on to earn degrees at Harpur College (now Binghamton University) in Binghamton, N.Y., and Cornell University Law School, in 1963 and 1966, respectively. While at Harpur, Mr. Krebs applied to the Experiment in International Living and was placed for a summer with a family in Gdynia, Poland. After travel in Poland and Russia, he passed the Foreign Service exam before leaving law school. In 1966 Mr. Krebs joined the Foreign Service. His first posting with the State Department was as a consular officer in Berlin from 1967 to 1969. He was then
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