The Foreign Service Journal, July-August 2017

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JULY-AUGUST 2017 69 ning, education and agriculture. During the next 10 years (1979-1989), he was the USAIDmission director in Guyana, Pakistan and Peru, with a year (1985-1986) in Washington, D.C., as USAID’s chief economist. Mr. Lion retired fromUSAID in July 1989 after a distinguished career during which he received numerous awards and accolades. In retirement Mr. Lion did develop- ment consulting work with, for example, the Ministry of Finance in Hungary and the Ministry of Agriculture in the Domini- can Republic. He was also an adjunct professor in the Economics Department at American University in Washington, D.C., where he taught a popular seminar on development assistance. In 1994, the Lion family moved to Bangkok, where his wife, Linda, served as USAIDmission director. There Mr. Lion enjoyed assignments with the United Nations Development Program, Thailand’s National Institute for Develop- ment Administration andThommasat University. He also contributed articles on development to the local newspaper. Mr. Lion retired fully in 1996, and actively pursued his passions: vegetable gardening, tournament bridge, ping pong, golf and gourmet cooking. Mrs. Lion retired fromUSAID in 2002, and the couple spent time with their girls and their families, and enjoyed long trips— to Turkey, Vietnam, Russia, Eastern Europe, Ireland, Egypt, Jordan and Canada. Family and friends remember Mr. Lion for his trademark bowtie and pipe, fierce intellect, dry sense of humor and his kind, gentle and loving ways. He was admired and respected by his colleagues, espe- cially those whom he mentored over the years. However, the love of his family and their accomplishments were his greatest source of satisfaction, pride and joy. Mr. Lion was preceded in death by his parents, David and Anna Holstein Lion; his daughter Amy Lion; brothers Paul and Eugene Lion; and former wife, Elizabeth Kennedy Lion. He is survived by his wife and best friend of 39 years, Linda N. Lion nee Kranetz; daughters Ann Lion (and her husband, Marc Luoma), Kristin Lion Torres (and her husband, Juan Pablo) and Karin Lion (and her partner, Bonnie Levin); granddaughters Sara Coleman Hernandez (and her husband, Phil), Ali Coleman and Mia Lion Torres; sisters- in-law, Barbara Kranetz Green and Jo Lechay Lion; nieces Jaime Green Roberts (and her husband, Jeff), Jenny Lion (and her husband, Steve Matheson) and Angel Lion; and nephew Jason Green (Tovah). Donations may be made in Mr. Lion’s name to the Louis August Jonas Founda- tion in New York. In 1930, that founda- tion established and still operates Camp Rising Sun, an international leadership program for young adults where Mr. Lion spent four very meaningful summers. n Willie A. Whitten Jr., 87, a retired Foreign Service officer, died on April 22 at the Legacy Personal Care Home in Loganville, Ga., following complications from pneumonia. Mr. Whitten was born and raised in Weir, Miss., the son of Willie Amzie and Velma Elizabeth (Eddleman) Whitten. In his early years, he helped on the family farm. After graduating fromWeir High School in 1946, he met his wife, Lucille Stinnett, at her church in Kentucky, where his Uncle Charles served as pastor. The couple married in 1948. Mr. Whitten attended Mississippi College, graduating in 1951 with a B.A. in sociology. Following his receipt of a B.D. from Southern Seminary in 1954, he served for seven years as the associate director of the Southern Baptist Semi- nary Extension Department in Nashville, Tenn. In 1966 he earned a doctorate of education degree in adult education from Indiana University. Mr. Whitten joined the Foreign Service with the State Department in 1963. Dur- ing a 24-year diplomatic career, he served in Liberia, Tanzania, Afghanistan and parts of Asia. He retired as a commis- sioned officer from the Foreign Service in 1987, and spent his retirement years in Norcross and Sugar Hill, Ga. Mr. Whitten was also a former pastor of the First Baptist Church in Richland, Miss. Artifacts from the Whittens’ time in Liberia are in collections at Indiana University and Mississippi College. Mr. Whitten was an active and beloved member for many years at First Baptist Church of Chamblee, which later became Johns Creek Baptist Church, inspiring others through his service as a deacon and Sunday School teacher. In retirement, he enjoyed serving as a chaplain for the local chapter of the Good Sam R.V. Club. His interest in genealogy and photography culminated in the 2000 publication of Beulah and Beyond: A Story of the Beulah Baptist Church and Commu- nity in Historical Perspective, 1835-1999, about the people, church, school and land of Choctaw County, Miss. Mr. Whitten leaves his wife of 68 years, Lucille (Stinnett) Whitten; his son, Warren Allen Whitten; his brother, Rev. Charles WilliamWhitten; grandsons Wade AllenWhitten and Travis RyanWhitten; granddaughter Casey JoAnne Whitten; and many cousins and close friends. Contributions may be made to Johns Creek Baptist Church, 6910McGinnis Ferry Road, Alpharetta GA 30005, or to theW. A. Whitten Sr. Memorial Endowment Fund at Mississippi College (Attn: Barbara Brown King), Box 4005, ClintonMS 39058. n