The Foreign Service Journal, May 2004

Eatontown, N.J.; three nieces, Tracy DePietropaolo of Downingtown, Pa., Marcia Miller of Basking Ridge, N.J., and Sally Dixner of Fairfield Glade, Tenn.; and several grand-nieces and grand-nephews. John W. Vonier , 83, retired FSO, died from complications from Parkinson’s disease on Jan. 1 at Mt. Vernon Hospital in Alexandria, Va. Born in Michigan, Mr. Vonier was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1942. After intensive German language studies at the University of Illinois, he was sent to Central Europe. At the end of World War II, he joined the Occupation Authority, and later the Foreign Service. He served 13 years in Germany, where he met and married his wife Christiana. Mr. Vonier was posted to Meshed, Iran, in 1955. He studied Arabic at the Foreign Service Institute in Beirut in 1962, and was then posted to Amman as a cultural affairs officer in 1964, to Kuwait in 1965, and Saudi Arabia in 1968. He also served in Lebanon and the Sudan before retir- ing from the Foreign Service in 1970. Mr. Vonier is survived by his wife of 50 years; a daughter, Karen Vonier of Woodbridge, Va.; and a son, John E., daughter-in-law Nancy and two grandchildren, Kelsey and Chris- topher, of Richmond, Va. Julius W. Walker Jr ., 76, retired FSO and ambassador to several African nations, died Dec. 5 of con- gestive heart failure at his home in Washington, D.C. Julius Waring Walker Jr. was born in Plainview, Texas. He attended the Virginia Military Institute and joined the Marine Corps just as World War II was coming to a close. He gradu- ated from the University of Texas at Austin and received a master’s degree in international affairs from George Washington University in 1973. He was also a graduate of the National War College. Ambassador Walker joined the State Department as a press officer in 1956, after having worked as a gro- cery store manager, a claims adjuster for an insurance company, a reporter for the Waco Tribune-Herald and a television station announcer. Much of Amb. Walker’s 33-year Foreign Service career was spent in Africa, including a tour as ambas- sador to Burkina Faso from 1981 to 1984. Following retirement in 1989, Amb. Walker was called back as act- ing ambassador to Cameroon and then to Chad. Other postings include Malta (as consul), Chad (as deputy chief of mission), Burundi (as political officer) and London. Amb. Walker was charge d’af- faires in Monrovia on April 12, 1980, when Army Master Sgt. Samuel K. Doe led a coup d’etat against the oli- garchy that had ruled Liberia since its establishment in the 19th century. As the U.S. ambassador was on sick leave, Walker was in charge. His rec- ollection of the negotiations with Doe and his co-conspirators follow- ing their assassination of Liberian president William R. Tolbert Jr. is recounted in his obituary in the Washington Post . Walker promised to relay their request for American aid, but insisted that the killings stop. Although Doe agreed, the country soon descended into chaos. Walker assured the 6,000 Americans in the country that they would be safe, yet he himself was held up and nearly shot on the second day after the coup. Some Americans left, but Mr. Walker and the embassy staff stayed. He was awarded the State Depart- ment’s Superior Honor Award. In Washington, Amb. Walker served as a personnel and interna- tional relations officer and director in the offices of international confer- ences, African regional affairs and the directorate for transportation and communication agencies. In the mid-1980s, he led an inspection team auditing embassy operations around the world. He retired as diplomat- in-residence at the National Council of World Affairs Organizations. Following retirement, Mr. Walker lectured on foreign policy and the Foreign Service to World Affairs Councils, Elderhostel and other groups. He taught at the Foreign Service Institute, and led teams that trained diplomats from Kazakhstan, Albania, Ukraine and other East Bloc nations. He also acted in productions of the Great Falls Players, Port City Playhouse and St. Mark’s Players. He was president of the board of the International Eye Foundation and a director of the Harvest With Heart hunger organization. Surviving are his wife of 47 years, Savannah Tunnell Walker of Wash- ington, D.C.; three children, Savan- nah Waring Walker of Pelham, N.Y., Lucile Lenore Walker of Washing- ton, D.C. and George Julius Stewart Walker of New York, N.Y.; and two grandsons. 72 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / M A Y 2 0 0 4 I N M E M O R Y Send your “In Memory” submission to: Foreign Service Journal Attn: Susan Maitra 2101 E Street NW, Washington DC 20037, or e-mail it to FSJedit@afsa.org, or fax it to (202) 338-8244. No photos, please.