The Foreign Service Journal, March 2020

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | MARCH 2020 71 n Timothy Graham Alexander , 65, a retired Foreign Service officer with USAID, died at his home in Potomac, Md., on Aug. 6, 2019, of cancer. Mr. Alexander received a bachelor’s degree in urban planning from the Uni- versity of Cincinnati and launched his international career as a U.N. volunteer in Bahrain before earning a master’s degree in regional planning and international development from Syracuse University. As a development consultant for Management Systems International, Mr. Alexander traveled throughout Africa, the Middle East and the Pacific Islands, learn- ing the ropes on projects from rural devel- opment inMauritania to fisheries in Fiji. After joining USAID in 1989 as an urban planning officer, he was proud to repre- sent the United States and work with local governments to develop infrastructure and clean water and foster democracy and governance, including in conflict zones. He built close bonds with local colleagues who noted his sincerity, good humor and respect for their career development. Mr. Alexander met his wife, Vickie, in Jakarta in 1991, and they traveled the world together, experiencing different cultures through food and photography while maintaining a home base in Potomac. Mr. Alexander loved film, martial arts, Southeast Asian culture, Buddhist and Islamic architecture, and classical and world music, particularly Indonesian gamelan and Indian santoor. Having learned to play golf near the pyramids of Egypt, it was his passion in retirement. He preferred public courses throughout Montgomery County, Md., because he enjoyed engaging in conver- sation with golfers from all walks of life. With USAID, Mr. Alexander lived and worked in Bahrain, Malawi, Thailand, Indonesia, Egypt, Armenia, Lebanon and Afghanistan. He retired in 2016. After his cancer diagnosis in the fall of 2018, Mr. Alexander participated in a Johns Hopkins–Sibley Memorial Hospital immunotherapy clinical trial, knowing that lessons gained from his experience could help others. Mr. Alexander was preceded in death by his parents, Melville and Roselle Alex- ander, and is survived by his wife, Vickie Alexander; his twin, Pamela Alexander (and her spouse, Robert Kurz); sisters Deborah Alexander (and her husband, Ralph Mercer) and Robin Alexander Staggs (and her husband, Rod Staggs); parents-in-law Michael and Marjorie Alaimo; sister-in-law Julie Alaimo; seven nieces and nephews; and five grand- nieces and nephews. n Claire Mornane Bogosian , 81, wife of Ambassador (ret.) Richard W. Bogosian, died on Nov. 23, 2019, in Montgomery Village, Md., after a long struggle with Alzheimer’s disease. Ms. Mornane was born in Medford, Mass., on Dec. 20, 1937, to Gertrude and Arthur Mornane. A 1959 graduate of Boston State Teachers College, she taught in public schools in Medford (1959-1961) and Harvey, Ill. (1961-1962); at the Ameri- can School of Baghdad (1963-1965); and at the Christ Episcopal Day School (1970- 1972) in Rockville, Md. Employed by the Montgomery County Recreation Depart- ment (1982-1985), she managed programs at county senior centers. Mrs. Bogosian accompanied her husband to assignments in Baghdad, Paris, Kuwait, Khartoum, Niamey and N’Djamena. Active in community and social affairs, she was vice president of the American Women’s Association in Kuwait. In Niamey and N’Djamena, she orga- nized private financing and devised new programs for both countries’ ministries of health. For example, she oversaw the design and provision of children’s beds for hospitals in Niamey, something that had not existed in Niger until then. During difficult times at hardship posts, especially in Khartoum, Niamey and N’Djamena, Mrs. Bogosian provided support to the American community by opening the ambassador’s residence to the community, even feeding dozens of frightened and vulnerable Americans in post-coup N’Djamena in December 1990. In Niamey she taught sewing to young teens. She was especially attentive to Peace Corps Volunteers in Niger and Chad, and to Americans coping with very stressful environments in Khartoum and N’Djamena. In the 1990s, Mrs. Bogosian was active in the Associates of the American Foreign Service Worldwide. For several years, she managed the Secretary of State’s Volunteer of the Year Award. She was a recipient of the award in 2002. During this period, she was often called on to address the ambassadors’ course at the Foreign Service Institute about the role of the ambassador’s spouse. She also spoke about Africa at elementary schools in Montgomery County. Friends remember her as a dedicated teacher, a loving wife and mother, and a mentor and model for younger Foreign Service families. Mrs. Bogosian leaves behind her husband of 58 years, Richard; her son, David of Brooklyn, N.Y.; her daughters, Jill of Somerville, Mass., and Catherine of Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich.; their spouses; five grandchildren; and her sister, Kathleen Bench, of Winchester, Mass., and her family. n Walter Sheldon Clarke , 84, a retired Foreign Service officer, died in his sleep at his home in Lutz, Fla., on Nov. 24, 2019. Born on Dec. 28, 1934, in Washington, IN MEMORY