The Foreign Service Journal, April 2016

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | APRIL 2016 59 APPRECIATION Ambassador Carl Edward Dillery served as AFSA’s elected retiree vice president from 1991 to 1993 and as chair of the Scholarship Committee from 1997 to 2012. BY STEVEN ALAN HONL EY Steven Alan Honley, a Foreign Service officer from 1985 to 1997, is The Foreign Service Journal ’s contributing editor. He was editor-in-chief of the Journal from 2001 to 2014. AFSA’s Very Own Santa Claus: Carl EdwardDillery, 1930-2016 A mbassador Carl Edward Dillery, who died on Jan. 23 at the age of 85, was much fitter than Santa Claus. But in spirit, at least, Ed (as he was universally known) bore a striking resemblance to jolly old St. Nicholas, and managed to do so all year round—but most especially on Foreign Affairs Day. Each May during his nearly 15 years as chair of the American Foreign Service Association’s Scholarship Committee, Ed joy- fully disbursed scholarship checks worth thousands of dollars to dozens of deserving high school students. While those funds didn’t come out of his own pocket, he seemed to take just as much pleasure from the annual ceremony as if they had. And in the process, without in any way hogging the spotlight, he trans- formed what could have been a repetitive series of transactions into something truly profound: an investment in each teenager’s future. Lori Dec, AFSA’s longtime scholarship director, says she “can’t remember a time when Ed did not have a smile on his face. He was a genuinely nice man, very down to earth, and never let on that he was a former ambassador. He was always ready to assist with any committee business, be it attending an awards lunch, accepting a scholarship check from a donor or presiding over a Merit Awards panel meeting. He will be sadly missed.” Ambassador C. Edward Dillery, at right, with 2007 AFSA Merit Award winners who were able to attend the reception. From left, Jason Meer, Erica Wickman, Andrew Keith, Sarah Haviland and Paul Armstrong. AFSA/SHAWNDORMAN