The Foreign Service Journal, April 2011

A P R I L 2 0 1 1 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 69 pines to assess what the needs were and tried to find some markets for local fabrics.” Mr. Rice’s last posting was as diplo- mat-in-residence at the University of California, Berkeley. In 1969, the couple settled in Tiburon, where Mrs. Rice finally found time for her own art. She worked at weaving until back problems developed, and then exper- imented with a fabric-dyeing techni- que called shibori. She also collabo- rated on a book, Shibori: The Inven- tive Art of Japanese Shaped Resist Dyeing , that was published in Japan in 1983. It is considered a classic on the subject, and is still in print. Friends recall Mrs. Rice’s intense, lifelong interest in public policy, par- ticularly policy affecting women and children. Her husband, Edward, prede- ceased her in 2006. She is survived by a niece, Catherine Siewert of San Francisco, Calif. R. Richard Rubottom Jr. , 98, a retired FSO and former ambassador, died on Dec. 6 in Austin, Texas. Mr. Rubottom was born in Brown- wood, Texas, in 1912. He earned B.A. and M.A. degrees from Southern Methodist University in 1932 and 1933, and went on to study Latin American relations at the University of Texas while employed as an assis- tant dean of students there. In Austin he met and married Billy Ruth Young of Corsicana, Texas. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1941 and served in naval intelligence positions in Mexico and Paraguay, rising to the rank of commander during World War II before leaving the Navy. Mr. Rubottom joined the Foreign Service in 1946. During an 18-year career with the State Department, he concentrated on Latin American af- fairs. As a junior FSO he attended the first meeting of the Organization of American States in Bogota, and then served as the director of the economic mission in Madrid. He returned to Washington, D.C., first as deputy, then as assistant secre- tary of State for inter-American affairs from 1956 to 1960. He served as am- bassador to Argentina from 1960 to 1961, concluding his Foreign Service career as adviser to the Naval War College in Newport, R.I. Ambassador Rubottom then em- barked on a second career, returning to Southern Methodist University as vice president for university life in 1964. He later served as administra- tive vice president and vice president for planning. In 1971, he moved to Mexico as president of the University of the Americas in Puebla, returning to SMU in 1973 as a professor of po- litical science and scholar-in-resi- dence. He was named professor emeritus in 1975. After retirement from SMU, Amb. Rubottom remained active in diplo- macy and civic affairs. From 1985 to 1987, he served as director of the Dal- las Office of International Affairs. He also served on the Texas Committee of the Campaign for SMU from 1997 to 2002. He was twice president of the Dallas Rotary Club, and served on I N M E M O R Y