The Foreign Service Journal, March 2021

84 MARCH 2021 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL Mr. Keil was born on April 29, 1945, in Oakland, Calif., to Elizabeth Kingston and Charles F. Keil Jr. His father died in November 1954, and his mother married Joe Weaver, a beekeeper and farmer from Halltown, Mo. In 1959 his stepfather retired and relo- cated the family to Seguin, Texas, where Mr. Keil graduated from Seguin High School in 1962. As a student at Southwest Texas State University, Mr. Keil played saxophone in a band that had some com- mercial success, so he moved to Austin where he found a job and enrolled in the University of Texas. He graduated in 1966. Mr. Keil was accepted to the U.S. Navy’s Officer Candidate School in New- port, R.I. Commissioned in June 1967, he reported to the destroyer USS Theodore E. Chandler (DD-717), in the Tonkin Gulf. He served there through May 1971 as the ship carried out three Western Pacific deployments and multiple combat mis- sions during the Vietnam conflict. After leaving the Navy, Mr. Keil enrolled in graduate school at the Uni- versity of Texas with the goal of joining the U.S. Foreign Service. He met and married Dianne Lysne in 1973, and they welcomed their son, Joe, in 1974. Mr. Keil embarked on a 27-year Foreign Service career in 1975. A fascinating first tour in Panama, during the canal negotiations, was high- lighted by the arrival of son Matt, in 1977. That was followed by postings to Milan and Genoa; Guayaquil; the National War College in Washington, D.C.; Guatemala City; Tijuana; and a final tour as consul general in Rome. Dianne and the boys were key members of the Foreign Service team representing America. After retiring to Annapolis, Md., in 2002, Mr. Keil did volunteer work and pursued active outdoors interests in hiking, birding, travel and cycling. He and his wife enjoyed road trips to see the wonders of the United States. The Keils’ wanderlust was energized when son Joe moved to Beijing and Mat- thew remained in Rome. Family reunions in Italy and China afforded opportunities for bus tours, river and ocean cruises and a series of long-distance hikes in the U.K., France, Italy, Spain and Slovenia. Friends and family members remem- ber Mr. Keil thanking the good fortune and supportive people who made it possible for him to evolve from a poten- tial juvenile delinquent in the Oakland “hood” to a rewarding life as a public servant representing the United States in the international arena. He is survived by his loving wife of 47 years, Dianne; sister Martha (Jim); sons Joe (Eve) and Matt (Rania); grand- children Soraya, Yasmine, Austin, Angie and Alex; brother-in-law Bruce (Diane); nephews Jonathan and Benjamin; nieces Jessica, Sharla, Jennifer and Cindy; and a global network of extended family, close friends and former colleagues. Mr. Keil’s generosity and spirit of ser- vice to community was evident through- out his life. In lieu of flowers, please consider contributions to his favorite charities: The Salvation Army, Boys and Girls Clubs of America or Médecins Sans Frontières International. n John “Jack” Wellington Macdon- ald, 91, a retired Foreign Service officer with USAID, died peacefully in Austin, Texas, on Nov. 25, 2020. He was born on Nov. 14, 1929, in Grand Forks, N.D., to Donald C. Macdon- ald and Evelyn J. Salt. He was the oldest of three children. He served in the U.S. Army before he went to the University of North Dakota, graduating in 1953. Mr. Macdonald worked on Capitol Hill from 1953 to 1955, while taking courses at Georgetown University Graduate School and Law School. He worked for Pruden- tial Insurance from 1955 to 1957 in New York City, then returned to Washington, D.C., where he reentered government service. In 1965 Mr. Macdonald took his first USAID post in Lagos, with subsequent assignments in Saigon, Bangkok, Tunis, Damascus, Beirut, Amsterdam, Kinshasa and Baku. Retiring from the Foreign Service in 1980, he moved to Easton, Md., where he was an active sailor, single-handing his 33-foot Swiftsure sloop until he was 80. He did volunteer work at the hospital, church and library and sold antiques in Easton. He also ran a portrait group at the Easton Academy of Art for 15 years and was a member of the English-Speaking Union, the Commonwealth Society and various art groups. Following his move to Austin, Texas, in 2006, Mr. Macdonald joined the Austin Yacht Club and ran open studio art classes at the Austin Museum of Art. Mr. Macdonald’s passions were oil painting, sailing, bicycling, antique clocks, Byzantine art, classical music, his little dog, Holly, and, above all, books. His friends loved his sharp sense of humor, and his tremendous knowledge on all things arcane. Mr. Macdonald is survived by his daughter and son-in-law, Pam and John Halter of Austin; his sister, Edith Ander- son of Richfield, Minn.; four grandchil- dren, Kristin and Neil Macdonald of Bear, Del., Madeline and Katherine Halter of Austin; and great-granddaughter, Anna- belle Tucker of Bear. He is also survived by his former wife, Marie Robinson of Annapolis, Md. He was predeceased by his brother, Neil Macdonald of Aspen, Colo.; his first