The Foreign Service Journal - March 2018

74 MARCH 2018 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL IN MEMORY n CarolineMarie Baker, 37, an active- duty Foreign Service officer, died on Oct. 28, 2017, after a decades-long battle with depression. Born inMilwaukee, Wis., and raised inMaitland, Fla., Ms. Baker completed her undergraduate education in Rus- sian studies at Princeton University and earned graduate degrees in Central Asian and Persian studies at the Universities of Wisconsin andMaryland. Amember of the March 2014 A-100 class, Ms. Baker had Foreign Service assignments inWashington, D.C., Bishkek and Ankara. Before joining the Foreign Service, Ms. Baker served in the Office of Naval Intelligence. She received numerous awards and recognitions for her service. Friends and family members recall her off-beat sense of humor and trenchant observations of the world, and say she used her talents to build relationships with the people of the many countries where she was posted or visited. Ms. Baker is survived by her parents, David andMelissa Baker of Maitland; her sister Sarah Butterfield (and her husband, Frank); her brother, Kyle Baker; her nephew, Jack Butterfield, and niece, Caroline Butterfield, all of Central Florida; andmany uncles, aunts and cousins. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network (www.glsen.org ) or a charity of your choice dedicated to public service and equal rights under law. n John B. “Jack” Barton, 81, a retired Foreign Service officer with the U.S. Infor- mation Agency, died on Dec. 10, 2017, in San Antonio, Texas, due to complications fromParkinson’s disease. Mr. Barton was born in Greenville, S.C., on June 18, 1936, to John and Ruth Cha- thamBarton. He graduated fromFurman University and the University of Georgia, where he earned a master’s degree, and served in the U.S. Army in Germany from 1956 to 1959. He taught at East Carolina University before entering the U.S. Information Agency, serving as cultural attaché and press officer inWashington, D.C., Peru, Nicaragua, Spain, Grenada and Brazil. Mr. Barton retired from the Foreign Ser- vice in 1993 and resided inGreenville before moving to San Antonio, Texas, in 2000. In retirement, he was a founding mem- ber of the Furman University Learning in Retirement program and a member of the Northwestern South Carolina Torch Club, the Foreign Affairs Association and the USIA Alumni Association. Mr. Barton was predeceased by his wife of 33 years, Nadeen Duggan Barton. He leaves a brother, Bruce, of Greenville; a son, Richard, and daughter-in-law, Linda; two grandchildren, Ben and Jenny; and four great-grandchildren, all of San Antonio. n Raymond Ellis Benson, 93, a retired Foreign Service officer, died on Nov. 12, 2017, at Porter Medical Center inMiddle- bury, Vt. Mr. Benson was born on Nov. 2, 1924, in the Bronx, N.Y., toMikhail and Vera (Peskin) Benson. He served in the U.S. Army in Korea, betweenWorldWar II and the KoreanWar, from 1946 to 1948. After his service in the Army, he gradu- ated from the University of Wisconsin, earning a bachelor’s degree in 1950 and a master’s degree in 1954. He then attended the Middlebury College Russian Language School and the Russian Institute at Colum- bia University. Mr. Benson worked briefly as a maga- zine editor in the private sector before joining the U.S. Information Agency in 1956. His 30-year Foreign Service career included assignments in Yugoslavia (Zagreb and Belgrade), West Germany, Turkey and eight years inMoscow, in addition to a variety of assignments in Washington, D.C. Retiring in 1987 with the rank of Min- ister Counselor, Mr. Benson became the founding director of the Collegiate Con- sortium for Academic Exchange, affiliated withMiddlebury College. Mr. Benson is survived by his wife of 61 years, Shirley; their daughter, Carolyn; and their sons, Michael and Nicholas. In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial contributions to Elderly Services Inc., P.O. Box 581, Middlebury VT 05753. n Arthur R. (Pete) Day, 94, a retired Foreign Service officer, died at his home inWashington, D.C., on Dec. 9, 2017, of chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder. Mr. Day served in the U.S. Navy as a seaplane pilot during WorldWar II. Fol- lowing the war, he enrolled in the Univer- sity of Chicago’s Master’s in International Relations program. While there, he met andmarried Carol Skeen, who had also served in the Navy, as a control tower operator. While at the university he saw a job announcement from the State Depart- ment: he was taking his orals for the For- eign Service when his first son, Frank (who would later also enter the Foreign Service), was born. Mr. Day joined the Foreign Service in 1949 and was assigned to the Palestine desk. His first overseas posting, in 1950, was to Bremen, a city still largely in rubble. There, among other duties, he oversaw the local fishing fleet. Next he was assigned to Santiago, where he and his young family, augmented at this point by sons Peter andThomas, lived on a ranch in the foothills of the Andes just outside the city. Mr. Day kept a