The Foreign Service Journal, March 2016

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | MARCH 2016 83 do most of the work in many places—full partners in agricultural development.” Amb. Blake also made time to serve on the boards of organizations he admired, including the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Wilderness Society, The Nature Conservancy, the Natural Resources Council of Maine and the Maine Coast Heritage Trust, among others. In his final years of life, he became increasingly concerned about poverty and hunger in the United States. He volun- teered for the Salvation Army, delivering food to the homeless at night. He also delivered Meals on Wheels and partici- pated in discussions with the leaders of the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., to encourage its more active engage- ment in addressing hunger. Survivors include his wife of 59 years, Sylvia Whitehouse Blake; three children, Robert Blake Jr., currently serving as ambassador to Indonesia, Lucy Blake of Palo Alto, Calif., and George Blake of New- port, R.I.; and five grandchildren. n Judy Jacob Copenhaver, 70, a retired member of the Foreign Service, died of leukemia on Dec. 18 at her home in Cuero, Texas. After serving as a Civil Service employee with the Drug Enforcement Administration in Mexico, Mrs. Copen- haver began her Foreign Service career in 1986. Postings with her tandem husband, Barry, included Panama City, Bonn, Islamabad, Monrovia, Kinshasa, Lahore, Mexico City, Malabo and Sierra Leone. She retired in 2009. In retirement Mr. andMrs. Copenhaver delighted in bringing their many friends and their family together—including grandchildren Carson, Justin, Max and Maya—at their beautiful home “La Finca” in Cuero. In addition to her grandchildren, Judy Copenhaver is survived by her retired Foreign Service husband of 50 years, Barry, and their children: Scott and Ineke Copenhaver; Jill (a retired State Depart- ment civil servant) and Lonnie Trevino; and Leah Copenhaver. n Robert E. Fritts, 81, a retired Foreign Service officer and two-time U.S. ambassador, died on Sept. 28 in Williams- burg, Va. Born in Oak Park, Ill., in 1934, Mr. Fritts received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan in 1956 and served as a commissioned U.S. Navy officer from 1956 to 1959, when he joined the Foreign Service. Mr. Fritts served in Luxembourg, Japan and Indonesia as an economic-commer- cial officer. In 1973, he was transferred as deputy chief of mission to Sudan, where the U.S. ambassador and his deputy had been assassinated. In 1974, at the age of 39, he became the youngest ambassador in the history of the Foreign Service when President Richard Nixon named himU.S. ambassador to Rwanda. As Fritts wryly observed, it was a record that “lasted about six months.” In 1983, President Ronald Reagan appointed himU.S. ambassador to Ghana, where he served during a period of fluctu- ating bilateral relations. Other State Department policy posi- tions included principal deputy assistant secretary of State in the Bureau of Con- sular Affairs and deputy inspector general. Following retirement in 1991, Amb. Fritts joined the faculty of the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Va. He was also a senior fellow with the Joint Forces Staff College in Norfolk, Va., and an occasional United Nations election observer in Africa. There he witnessed the election of Nelson Mandela. In later years, he and his wife, Audrey, both lectured on cruise ships. Amb. Fritts served on the boards of a number of civic and foreign policy orga- nizations in Williamsburg and Hampton Roads, including the Reves Center for International Studies and the Jefferson Program in Public Policy at the College of William&Mary, the Middle Planta- tion Club, the Williamsburg Symphonia, the Williamsburg Choral Guild and the World Affairs Council of Greater Hampton Roads. He was also a member of the Wash- ington Institute of Foreign Affairs and the American Foreign Service Association in Washington, D.C. Amb. Fritts had a keen interest in history and loved choral music. He was a stillwater canoeist, freshwater fisherman and a tennis and golf enthusiast. He is survived by his wife of 59 years, Audrey Nienhouse Fritts, of whom he often said that he was “unfailingly sup- ported through her knowledge, charm and courage”; two daughters, Susan Her- zog (and her husband, Charles) of South Salem, N.Y., and Robin Long (and her husband, Bob) of Flagstaff, Ariz.; and four grandchildren: Leigh, Callum, Zachary and Matthew. Memorial donations may be made to the Williamsburg Presbyterian Church, designated for the Chancel Choir, or to the International Rescue Committee or other international refugee relief organization. n Roderick Nay Grant, 88, a retired Foreign Service officer, died on Dec. 23 from cardiac arrest. He was a resident of Ashburn, Va. Mr. Grant was born on July 30, 1927 in Los Angeles, Calif., and grew up in nearby Glendale. An accomplished athlete, Mr. Grant captained Hoover High School’s first southern California championship track team, and later earned All-America