The Foreign Service Journal, May 2006

Barbara, Calif.; four grandchildren; and a sister, Sue Byrd of Anchorage, Alaska. The family suggests that memorial gifts be made to Oxfam. Eric Edward Svendsen , 61, a retired FSO, died of sudden cardiac arrest at his home in Alexandria, Va., on Jan. 28. Born in Grand Rapids, Mich., Mr. Svendsen spent his childhood in South Bend, Ind. He graduated from Carleton College in 1966 with a major in history, and completed an MBA at Columbia University in 1968. He and his wife, Nancy, then joined the Peace Corps and served in Iran, teaching at Jundi Shapur University from 1968 to 1970. Mr. Svendsen helped found a bank in Waterbury, Conn., in 1971, but soon joined the Foreign Service to pursue his interest in international affairs. Mr. Svendsen’s postings included Liberia, Bulgaria, Senegal, Yugo- slavia, Ghana and Austria, in addition to Washington, D.C. He was a politi- cal officer who also served with the U.S. mission to the United Nations in later years, visiting Palestine and Jordan with the U.N. High Com- mission for Refugees. In 1982, he was elected to chair the State Depart- ment’s Open Forum, an ongoing series of lectures and seminars en- couraging discussion of a wide range of points of view on foreign policy. Mr. Svendsen retired in 1997, having served for 26 years. In retirement, he worked part- time as a tax preparer. Other interests included service as a chief election officer for Fairfax County, genealogi- cal research at the Library of Con- gress and extended travel within the U.S. and abroad, particularly in Scan- dinavia. Mr. Svendsen is survived by his wife, Nancy Carter Svendsen of Alexandria, Va.; his children, An- drew Svendsen of Royersford, Pa., and Christina Svendsen of Paris, France; his sister, Elinor Svendsen Stein of Cypress, Calif.; and his grand- daughter, Rebecca Katherine Svend- sen of Royersford, Pa. Guadalupe Yameogo , 70, a retired Foreign Service specialist, died on Jan. 18 at the Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington, Va., fol- lowing a long illness. Mrs. Yameogo was born in Woodlake, Calif. The eldest of nine children of farm workers, she was a great help to her mother and an inspi- ration to her brothers and sisters, whom she encouraged to get as much education as possible and helped financially. She attended schools in Visalia, Calif., and graduated from the College of Sequoias in 1955. After graduation, she worked for the Tulare County School System. In 1963, Mrs. Yameogo entered the Foreign Service. She served in secretarial positions of increasing responsibility in 10 different countries, many of them under difficult circum- stances, as well as in several offices at the State Department. She advanced to the highest rank of the office man- agement specialist field, serving as executive assistant to the American ambassadors to Burkina Faso, Sierra Leone, Honduras and Peru. Affectionately known as “Lupe” by her family and a wide circle of friends both here and abroad, Mrs. Yameogo took a special interest in single people at the posts where she served. She was also active in women’s organiza- tions abroad; in Peru she founded an association of social secretaries. Family and friends recall Mrs. Yameogo’s infectious laugh — which ranged from a soft chortle to a hearty chuckle to a tender lilt — her devo- tion to her family, and her invariably positive approach to life. In 1992, Mrs. Yameogo was hon- ored as the State Department Secre- tary of the Year because of her out- standing work in Sierra Leone in sup- porting U.S diplomatic efforts during the early and violent stages of the war there. Mrs. Yameogo was especially known throughout the Foreign Service for being calm under pressure and sincerely interested in others. On the day of the coup d’etat in Free- town, in the face of flying bullets and worrying about the safety of others, Mrs. Yameogo picked up the phone and calmly made calls to the resi- dence of the chief of mission and to Washington from under her desk. A gifted linguist, Mrs. Yameogo spoke four foreign languages: French, German, Italian and Spanish. Mrs. Yameogo retired from the Foreign Service in 1998, after 35 years of government service. In 2000, she accompanied her husband, Joanny Yameogo, a GSO specialist, on assignments to Indonesia and to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Mrs. Yameogo is survived by her husband of 31 years, Joanny; her son, Timothy of Edinburg, Texas; her mother, Mrs. Mary G. Magana of Visalia, Calif.; two sisters, Esther Gotto of Reno, Nev., and Mary Lou Magana of Mount Vernon, Wash.; five brothers, Antonio Magana of Clovis, Calif., Leonard Magana of Berwich- shire, Scotland, Jesse Magana of Lockhart, Texas, David Magana of Visalia, Calif., and Ramon Magana of Sanger, Calif.; and numerous nieces and nephews. n M A Y 2 0 0 6 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 67 I N M E M O R Y u u u 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.