The Foreign Service Journal, March 2023

62 MARCH 2023 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL Theatre, and being among the first donors to contribute to its restoration. She also funded the M. Persis Johnson Reference and New Hampshire Room at the Beth- lehem Public Library in memory of her older sister. In her oral history for the Associa- tion for Diplomatic Studies and Training, Ms. Johnson told howmuch she loved her career and the chance to serve her country. Friends and family members recall her generosity and her tough Yankee spirit—she remained active well into her 90s, even bushwhacking at the age of 99. The family appreciates the North Country Home Health and Hospice Agency, and the invaluable, gracious care provided by a private group: Mo Ingerson, Angela Bernaiche, andTheresa Girouard. Ms. Johnson’s sister, Persis, who had contracted polio at age 14 and was par- tially paralyzed, predeceased her in 1996. Persis guided Ms. Johnson throughout her life and accompanied her to many posts. Ms. Johnson is survived by mem- bers of the Jensen family, as well as Ann Walker Clark, Patricia Clark, John Clark, Steve Clark, Susan Clark Ashton, Mary Lou Dewar, and hundreds of friends and admirers. She insisted that there not be any memorial ceremony. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be sent to either the hospice agency or the Colonial Theatre. n Stephen Leavitt Reid, 67, a retired USAID Foreign Service officer, and his wife Djeswende “Wendy” Pasgo Reid, 66, died tragically on April 18, 2022. Stephen Reid was born in 1955 in Concord, N.H., the second of five chil- dren born to William and Peggy-Ann (Leavitt) Reid. Djeswende Reid, affectionally known as Wendy, was the eldest daughter of nine children, born in Benin in 1956 to Bila and Poco Pasgo. Mr. Reid grew up in a lively and loving home. An avid athlete, he played defen- sive back for the Concord High School football team and made three intercep- tions in a single game, which, up until that time, had never been done at CHS. He graduated in 1973. Mr. Reid went on to attend the Univer- sity of Notre Dame where he graduated in 1978 with highest honors in English. After receiving full scholarships to several law schools, he decided to pursue a career in public service and began by joining the Peace Corps. In 1979 Mr. Reid’s first overseas assignment took him to the small town of Madaoua in Niger, West Africa, where he taught English. In 1982 he returned to the U.S. to take a position at Peace Corps headquarters in Washington, D.C., as a liaison to several West African countries. There, in Washington, he met the love of his life, Djeswende (Wendy). Although Ms. Reid was raised in Togo, her parents and extended family hailed from Burkina Faso. As the daughter of a prominent pastor in the Assemblies of God Church, she was raised with, and maintained, a deep-rooted faith. Departing from tradition, Bila Pasgo nurtured and supported his daughter’s love of basketball and encouraged her to achieve an early international career. Ms. Reid traveled the world with the Togolese national basketball team, participating in international competitions in Lagos, Cairo, Paris, Beijing, Nanjing, Shanghai, Buenos Aires, Bamako, Kinshasa, and Brazzaville—and winning medals in Tunis, Dakar, Nairobi, Mexico City, and Yamoussoukro. Ms. Reid earned scholarships to attend college in the United States. While an undergraduate in Washington, D.C., she was introduced to Mr. Reid through a mutual friend who told her that he knew an American who spoke Hausa, a West African language, and Parisian French well enough to meet her conversational standards. Initially skeptical, Ms. Reid was impressed upon meeting him. It took several invitations to play tennis from the timid Steve Reid, as well as a hint fromMs. Reid’s college roommate, for her to under- stand his romantic intentions. Together, they made a dynamic pair who complemented and brought out the best in each other. From both sides of the Atlantic, the Pasgo and Reid families recognized the two’s genuine love for each other and blessed their 1984 marriage in Senegal. However, the couple ensured their children were born in Mr. Reid’s native Concord, N.H. In 1986 their first child, Lindsay Wenkouni Reid, arrived, followed in 1990 by the birth of their sec- ond child, Brian Daniel Reid. The Reids provided their two children with abundant multicultural childhood experiences and instilled in them a sense of global community and a love of human- ity and diversity in all its forms, hard work, courage, and integrity. A promotion in 1983 to associate direc- tor of the Peace Corps in Senegal had Mr. Reid leading numerous projects address- ing issues such as reforestation, water supply, community development, and intercultural language training. He left the Peace Corps in 1987 to attend Syracuse University, where he obtained a master’s degree in public administration while Ms. Reid worked to support their growing family. In 1989 Mr. Reid was recruited by USAID to work with a local nongovern- mental organization headquartered in Burkina Faso dedicated to addressing the interrelated issues of climate change and