The Foreign Service Journal, May 2014

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | MAY 2014 69 awarded him the Bintang Jawa Utama, the highest award given to a foreigner. Mr. Masters is survived by his wife of nearly 58 years, Allene; his daughter, Julie Hellman (and her husband, Robert); his son, Edward R. Masters; and grandsons Nathan and Nicholas Hellman. The family requests that any memorial contributions be made to USINDO. n Charles Donald (Don) Matthias , 87, a retired FSO with the U.S. Agency for International Development, died unex- pectedly on Dec. 31, in Gig Harbor, Wash. Mr. Matthias was born in Bridgeport, Conn., in 1926 and served in the U.S. Army during World War II from July 1943 to April 1946. His career in the Foreign Service with USAID and its predecessors began in 1952 and took him and his family to Jordan, Iran, Somalia, Vietnam, Bolivia, Pakistan and Chile. After retirement in 1981, he settled in Gig Harbor, where he enjoyed boating in the San Juan and Canadian Gulf Islands. Mr. Matthias was a member of DACOR, AFSA, NARFE and the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary. He is survived by his wife, Elisabeth (Betty) Hutchison of Gig Harbor; his daughter, Karen Auchter, and grandson, Andrew; his son, Patrick Lawson; and a brother, Robert. n Caroline V. Meirs , 69, a retired Foreign Service officer with the U.S. Infor- mation Agency, died on Feb. 28 of cancer in Rochester, N.Y., surrounded by family members. Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., Ms. Meirs was educated at The Cathedral School of St. Mary in Garden City, N.Y., received her B.A. fromWellesley College in 1966, and earned her M.A. from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy in 1972. A great believer in lifelong learning, she spoke French, Italian, German and Spanish fluently. Ms. Meirs joined the Foreign Service with USIA in 1968, serving overseas and in Washington until 1995. She was country program officer in Mexico and Central America (1979-1980), cultural affairs officer in Peru (1980-1982) and deputy policy officer in the Office of the Assistant Director for Africa (1982-1983).