62 JULY AUGUST 2024 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL Her father, the late Reverend O. Urcille Ifill, a Panamanian immigrant who had migrated earlier, was an itinerant preacher in the African Methodist Episcopal Church, and the family moved around New York, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania over the next 20 years. Ms. Philip attended Buffalo East High School and later earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Wilberforce University in 1967. Her early career included roles at the Social Security Administration in Cleveland, Ohio, and San Jose, Calif. In 1980 Ms. Philip achieved her lifelong dream, joining the U.S. State Department as a Foreign Service officer. During her 27-year career in the Foreign Service, she progressed through the ranks of the Bureau of Consular Affairs. She served at posts in Bogotá, Bridgetown (where she met and married her husband, Oliver), Suva, Lagos, Georgetown, and Washington, D.C. After completing the Army War College strategic studies program in Carlisle, Pa., she took on a final assignment auditing consular affairs offices worldwide for the Office of the Inspector General. Her consular responsibilities spanned the globe, taking her to Tonga, Gabon, Togo, Benin, Burkina Faso, Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon, Niger, Ethiopia, Egypt, Kenya, Germany, Türkiye, Cyprus, Greece, Korea, Haiti, Mongolia, Suriname, Canada, and China. She received multiple commendations over her career, including a personal recognition from then–Vice President George H.W. Bush. Ms. Philip was a three-time recipient of the Department of State Meritorious Honor Award, the Department of State Superior Honor Award, and the Secretary’s Career Achievement Award for 39 years in government service. After retiring in 2007, Ms. Philip devoted her time to music, volunteering with Aunt Hattie’s Place, serving on Delta Sigma Theta committees, and enjoying leisure travel. She developed a lifelong love of music from an early age, harmonizing with her parents and singing in church choirs. Her musical tastes ranged from the Beatles to Broadway tunes, barbershop, and Beethoven. In retirement she was a stalwart member of the Sweet Adelines, participating in local, regional, and international female barbershop performances and competitions, including with the Greater Harrisburg, Clustered Spires, and, most recently, the Capital Accord Choruses. Throughout her life, Ms. Philip was a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta sorority. She generously supported her alma mater as a president’s club member of the Wilberforce University Alumni Association. A vibrant, gregarious, and charismatic spirit, she created a loyal network of friends from around the world. She embraced spouse Oliver “O.N.” Philip’s children and grandchildren as her own, and they equally cherished her. Ms. Philip was predeceased by her spouse, O.N. Philip; son Daniel Philip, who died in infancy in 1986; sister Gwendolyn; and brothers Oliver and Richard. She is survived by her children Barbara, Joyce, Veda, Paul, Peter, Ray, Samuel, and David; 21 grandchildren, including Craig Philip, Joselle Royer, Wesley and Juliette Pluviose-Philip, Thabani, Ntando, Briya, Briyanna, Damani, Paul Joseph, Kara, Kayla, Darren, Thandie, Amina, and Ajani Philip; and her brothers, Earle and Roberto Ifill. Donations in Ms. Philip’s memory can be made to the Parkinson Foundation of the National Capital Area, www.PFNCA.org. n Paul B. McCarty, 100, a retired State Department Foreign Service officer, passed away on April 6, 2024, in Weymouth, Mass. Mr. McCarty was born in Worcester, Mass., to Lawrence F. and Mary (McArdle) McCarty. In 1943 he joined the State Department and spent nearly 38 years serving in countries including Iraq, India, Brazil, Mexico, Italy, Syria, Vietnam, Sweden, Türkiye, and Ireland. Mr. McCarty retired from the State Department in 1978 and became a founding member of the Foreign Affairs Retirees of New England. Mr. McCarty was predeceased by his parents, Lawrence F. and Mary McCarty; siblings Helen Nadeau, Claire Butler, Marcella McCarty, Lawrence McCarty, and Mary Berry; and the mother of his two children, Christine Carmichael McCarty. He is survived by his spouse, Carol Ann D’Arcy; children Paul C. McCarty and Christine S. McCarty; and nephews, nieces, and friends made over many decades. If desired, a contribution may be made in Mr. McCarty’s name to the Senior Living Foundation, https://www. slfoundation.org/support.cfm, 1620 L Street NW, Suite 800, Washington, DC 20036-5629, or to a charity of one’s choice. n Maria Ifill Philip, 78, a retired U.S. Foreign Service officer, died on April 15, 2024, in Silver Spring, Md., from complications of advanced Parkinson’s disease. The third of six children, Ms. Philip was born in Barbados on Aug. 11, 1945. She immigrated to the U.S. in 1953 with her mother, the late Eleanor Husbands, and her brother Oliver, joining her father in Brooklyn, N.Y.
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