The Foreign Service Journal, May 2017

58 MAY 2017 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL IN MEMORY n John Albert Collins, 86, a retired Foreign Service officer, died on Oct. 2, 2016, at Casey’s Pond in Steamboat Springs, Colo., of Lewy Body Parkinson’s disease. Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., on Sept. 10, 1930, the son of Nicholas Martin Collins and Cecilia Barry Collins, Mr. Collins attended Regis High School. A graduate of St. John’s University of New York City and the New York University School of Law, Mr. Collins was a member of the New York State Bar. During the Korean conflict he served for more than three years as an officer in the United States Navy. After release from active duty in 1956 he worked for several years with the M.W. Kellogg Corporation as a buyer of industrial equipment and a systems analyst. Mr. Collins joined the Department of State in 1961 and was commissioned as a Foreign Service officer in 1962. During a more than 20-year diplomatic career, he and his family served both overseas and in the United States. Overseas postings included Aleppo, Stockholm, Thessaloniki and Athens. Stateside Mr. Collins served in Madison, Wis.—the first officer to serve with the governor’s office, as well as in various assignments in Washington, D.C. Mr. Collins retired from the Foreign Service in 1982, but stayed involved in government for the next 20 years. With his wife, Trudy, he worked for victims’ rights and habeas corpus reform, lobbying Capi- tol Hill and testifying before Congress. In 1985, the Collins’ daughter, Suzanne, an accomplished member of the U.S. Marine Corps, was tragically murdered. Besides becoming spokesper- sons for the rights of victims, the couple established a scholarship in her honor to help Foreign Service members’ children with their education. Mr. Collins is warmly remembered by family members and his many friends as a remarkable man. Mr. Collins was predeceased by both parents, his daughter Suzanne Marie Collins and his sister Aileen Patricia O’Shaughnessy. He is survived by his wife of almost 60 years, Trudy A. Collins; his son, Stephen T. Collins; his younger sister, Cecilia Joyce Collins; his daughter-in-law, Theresa Kassandra Collins; and his granddaugh- ter, Sienna Suzanne Collins; as well as numerous nephews, nieces and cousins. Memorial contributions may be made to the Suzanne Marie Collins Perpetual Scholarship, c/o the American Foreign Service Association Scholarship Fund, 2101 E Street NW, Washington DC 20037. n Lea Maria Kristiina Cristina, 67, the wife of retired Foreign Service Officer Stephen Cristina, died suddenly on Jan. 1 in Bethesda, Md. The daughter of Juho Kaarlo Väinö (Jussi) Jännes and Kaste-Helmi Marjatta (Pisko) Kangas, Lea Cristina grew up in Finland and subsequently lived in France, Spain and the United States. A skilled and accomplished artist, Mrs. Cristina painted in oil, acrylic and watercolor, and sculpted in clay and paper maché, in addition to working with digital art. Her works have been shown in several countries. Both before and after her marriage in 1976 to Stephen Cristina, Mrs. Cristina traveled extensively. She was fluent in more than 10 languages. The couple settled in New Orleans, La., where she had several professional shows. When Mr. Cristina joined the Foreign Service in 1987, she accompanied him to Brazil, Holland, Belgium, Albania, Afghanistan and Denmark. Wherever she was, Mrs. Cristina helped promote understanding and cooperation between the United States and foreign countries through her abili- ties with foreign languages, her work in the arts and her graciousness in hosting people from different sectors of society at her home. She instituted an art exchange between Albanian art students and Loyola University in New Orleans. In Afghanistan, where she worked for a year in the embassy’s cultural affairs unit, she was responsible for putting together a well-received photo exhibit of the history of U.S.-Afghanistan diplomatic relations. One of her most successful projects was the first exhibit of the Albanian Marubi photographs at the City Museum in Helsinki. Family members and friends remem- ber Mrs. Cristina as a wonderful, warm, creative and joyful mother and wife. A quiet and private person, she was also a bon vivant who loved good wine, good food, good friends and conversation, they recall. She enjoyed spending time in her garden or curling up with a good book. Mrs. Cristina leaves behind her hus- band of more than 43 years, Stephen of Bethesda, Md.; two sons, Arvid (and his wife, Nancy Schmitt) and Jan (and his wife, Sanna Teräsvirta); a granddaughter, Ella; a grandson, Tyko; her brother, Jukka Jännes and his family; and many grieving family members and friends in Finland, the United States and throughout the world. n David J. Fischer, 77, a retired For- eign Service officer and former ambas- sador, died on Nov. 22, 2016, in San Francisco, Calif. Born in Connecticut and raised in Minneapolis, Minn., where he attended the Blake School, Mr. Fischer gradu- ated from Brown University in 1960 and