The Foreign Service Journal, July-August 2016

94 JULY-AUGUST 2016 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL ambassador to the Côte d’Ivoire, and from 1979 to 1981 he served as vice pres- ident of the National Defense University in Washington. Ambassador Stearns had three lengthy tours in Greece—the last, from 1981 through 1985, as U.S. ambassador. During the first, he met and married Antonia Riddleberger, the daughter of James W. Riddleberger, also a former U.S. ambassador to Greece. In 2014, in recognition of his “unbending professionalism and deep respect for the history and culture of Greece,” Amb. Stearns was made Grand Commander of the Order of the Phoenix by the President of the Hellenic Republic. After retiring in 1987, Amb. Stearns was a fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C., Warburg Professor for International Relations at Simmons College in Boston, and Whitney H. Shepardson Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. He also published two books and numerous articles on U.S. foreign policy under the aegis of the Council on For- eign Relations and Princeton University: Entangled Allies: U.S. Policy toward Greece, Turkey and Cyprus (1992) and Talking to Strangers: Improving Ameri- can Diplomacy at Home and Abroad (1999). Amb. Stearns is survived by his beloved wife of 57 years, Antonia, of Bos- ton; six children: Joanne Stearns of Wyn- newood, Pa.; Pamela Pollack (and her husband, Fred) of Palm City, Fla.; Chris- topher Stearns of Silver Spring, Md.; Jonathan Stearns (and his wife, Barbara) of Brussels, Belgium; David Stearns (and his wife, Virginie) of London, U.K.; and Emily Stearns Fertik (and her husband, Elliot) of Chennai, India; eight grand- children: Emma, Zoe, Pauline, Charlotte, Amélie, Alexander, Daniel and Ian; and a half-sister, Mary Lou Stearns Roppoli of Indian Mills, N.J. n Frank C. Urbancic Jr. , 65, a retired Senior Foreign Service officer and former ambassador, died on May 17 in Rabat, where he had been working as export control and related border security adviser to the U.S. mission. A native of Indianapolis, Ind., Mr. Urbancic earned a bachelor’s degree in French literature from New York University in 1974, a master’s degree in Byzantine history from City College of New York in 1978 and a master’s degree in national security strategy from the National Defense University in Washing- ton, D.C., in 1993. Mr. Urbancic joined the Foreign Service in 1983, and served overseas in Quebec City, Amman, Tunis, Istanbul and Riyadh. He was deputy chief of mis- sion in Abu Dhabi, Freetown and Doha. Among his Washington, D.C., assign- ments, Mr. Urbancic served as principal deputy assistant secretary and deputy to the coordinator in the Office of the Coor- dinator for Counterterrorism. There he was responsible for managing and over- seeing all aspects of counterterrorism activities. He served as deputy director of the Office of Egyptian Affairs in 1995. As chargé d’affaires and deputy chief of mission in Kuwait from 2002 to 2004, Mr. Urbancic coordinated U.S. priorities with the host government and man- aged the bilateral relationship to ensure access for U.S. and coalition forces into Iraq during the early stages of the Iraq War. Mr. Urbancic was named U.S. ambas- sador to Cyprus in 2008 and served until 2011. He then served as principal officer at U.S. Consulate General Melbourne from 2011 to 2012, when he retired. In January 2013, he joined U.S. Mission Morocco as a contractor. Amb. Urbancic received a Presiden- tial Distinguished Service Award in 2006 and the Department of State’s highest acknowledgement for DCMs in 2003— the Baker-Wilkins Award for “DCM of the Year.” He received numerous addi- tional distinctions, including Meritori- ous and Superior Honor Awards. Amb. Urbancic is survived by his wife, Michelle, and two children. n Charles R. Wilds , 89, a retired Senior Foreign Service officer, died peacefully on July 4, 2015, in San Anto- nio, Texas. Born on Dec. 20, 1925, in Atlanta, Ga., Mr. Wilds was a World War II veteran who served in the U.S. Army Air Corps. A graduate of the University of Mary- land, he began his career at the Navy Department and joined the State Depart- ment Foreign Service in 1962. Mr. Wilds served with his family in India, Nepal, Hong Kong and Belgium, as well as in Washington, D.C. Retirement, after 34 years of dedi- cated government service, brought decades of joy with family and friends and continued travel, hobbies, profes- sional memberships, board appoint- ments and charitable volunteer posi- tions. Family members and friends remem- ber “Bob,” as many knew him, as a true gentleman of integrity who was held in great respect. He touched many lives with his genuine spirit, and his love of life’s adventures and journey. Mr. Wilds was preceded in death by his beloved wife of 54 years, Dorothea B. Wilds. He is survived by his loving daughter, Linda A. Wilds. n