The Foreign Service Journal, March 2008

received a master’s degree in econom- ics and labor in 1943 and a Ph.D. in economics and labor in 1957, both from Columbia University. Well known in U.S. and British labor circles, Dr. Weiner served in numerous posts abroad and in Wash- ington. He was first posted as a labor attaché in London in 1947. During the late 1940s and into the 1950s, he was one of the American diplomats engaged in promoting free labor unions in Europe as the United States sought to shore up European econ- omies against the influence of com- munist parties. Dr. Weiner later served in New Delhi, Lisbon, Ottawa and Sydney before retiring in London in 1980. He then served as a consultant to the State Department on international labor matters. As a friend recalls, “He showed the Foreign Service — a bit patrician at the time — that an eager kid from the Bronx could play the game and play it well.” The author of British Labor and Public Ownership (Public Affairs Press, 1960), Dr. Weiner lectured on international labor and labor manage- ment relations. He also taught at the U.S. Naval War College in Rhode Island and the Industrial College of the Armed Forces. In retirement, Dr. Weiner remain- ed keenly interested in British politics and corresponded regularly with poli- tical, government and labor officials in the U.K., a cousin, Leonard Weiner, recalls. He had a shortwave radio and loved to get news from the BBC. Dr. Weiner was a member of Kesher Israel Congregation and enjoyed attending Sunday morning get-togethers at the Georgetown temple to discuss world affairs with other Washington notables. As friends recall, Dr. Weiner was an involved person; he was not a bystander. He was a player, a con- cerned citizen, a member of the world. His stack of to-be-read mate- rial was often staggering. Dr. Weiner also acted as a media- tor in small claims court in the District, where he attempted to help people resolve disputes instead of going before a judge. His wife, Eva F. Weiner, a retired lieutenant in the Navy WAVES, died in 1988. There are no immediate sur- vivors. Richard F. Weitzel , 80, a retired Foreign Service specialist, died on Jan. 3 at his home in Columbus, Ga. Mr. Weitzel was born in Lititz, Pa., on Feb. 6, 1927. He served in the U.S. Navy, joining after Pearl Harbor, and was assigned as a yeoman with the heavy cruiser Albany at the time of his honorable discharge after Victory in Japan Day. Prior to joining the Foreign Service, Mr. Weitzel worked in the private sector as an accountant for the United Fruit Company. He lived and worked in Santa Marta, Colombia, from where he undertook numerous ocean jour- neys on cargo ships delivering fruit to the U.S. mainland. In 1955, Mr. Weitzel joined the State Department. He served as a disbursing officer and budget and fis- cal officer in Singapore, Kuala Lum- pur, Freetown, Panama, Cairo, Kabul and Nairobi. Between assignments in Kuala Lumpur and Freetown, he married Annabel Davis Weitzel (Wheeler), who was working for the department as a Foreign Service sec- retary. The couple served together in Washington, D.C., before Mrs. Weit- zel was reassigned to Luxembourg. Upon completion of her tour in Luxembourg, she resigned from the Service and joined her husband in Freetown. Between assignments in Cairo and Kabul, Mr. Weitzel served in the Near Eastern Affairs Bureau. He retired in 1979 and settled in Columbus, Ga., with his wife, who preceded him in death on Oct. 1, 1989. Mr. Weitzel was buried with mili- tary honors on Jan. 10 at Parkview Cemetery in Columbus, Ga. Sur- vivors include a daughter, Caroline Garner of Opelika, Al.; two sons, David Weitzel of Columbus, Ga., and Robert Weitzel, a Diplomatic Secur- ity special agent currently residing in Bucharest; and five grandchildren. 78 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / M A R C H 2 0 0 8 I N M E M O R Y E-mail your “In Memory” submission to the Foreign Service Journal at FSJedit@afsa.org, or fax it to (202) 338-6820. No photos, please.