THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JULY-AUGUST 2025 79 From November 1996 to July 1999, Mr. Gutiérrez served as the U.S. ambassador to Nicaragua. He held several important positions, including principal deputy assistant secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs at the State Department from 1999 to 2001 and acting assistant secretary from 2001 to 2002. In 2003 he was appointed as the U.S. ambassador to Argentina, a post in which he served until his retirement in 2006. After retiring, Ambassador Gutiérrez served as executive director of the Una Chapman Cox Foundation and taught as an adjunct professor at The George Washington University and Johns Hopkins University. He loved teaching and took great joy in mentoring the next generation of public servants. Amb. Gutiérrez was cherished by friends, family, students, and colleagues for his warmth, humor, and wit. He is survived by his wife of 45 years, Miriam Messina; his daughters, Alicia (and spouse James), Diana (and spouse Jim), and Susie; and his six grandchildren, Nico, Isa, Silvia, JJ, Luca, and Hugo. The family is grateful to the staff at the Schar Cancer Institute, including Dr. Adam Cohen, PA Catherine Wood, and Neuro-Oncology Nurse Hohyung; Dr. Farrah Daly, Alexandria Hospital ICU; and his longtime caregivers, Yenekal, Nardos, and Addis. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the National Brain Tumor Society. n James Robert Keith, 67, a retired Foreign Service officer and former ambassador, died on April 8, 2025, at his home in Reston, Va., of metastatic melanoma. Mr. Keith was born in Roanoke, Va., on June 20, 1957. His parents, Robert and Lillian Keith, hailed from Marietta, Ga., and Sanford, Fla., but the family’s roots go back to Clan Keith in Scotland. He grew up in Asia and Northern Virginia, graduating from Taipei American School in 1975 and from the College of William and Mary in 1979. He met his future wife, Jan Elaine Carter, in 1974, at the Taipei American School in Taiwan. They were married March 4, 1978, at the Washington Navy Yard Chapel and joined the Catholic Church together in 1987. They had six children: Jason, John, Scott, Emily, Andrew, and Elizabeth. The family adopted John, who suffered from cerebral palsy and a seizure disorder, while stationed in Korea. Mr. Keith joined the Foreign Service in 1980, with assignments in Indonesia, China, and South Korea. He served as consul general in Hong Kong, assistant chief of mission in Afghanistan, deputy assistant secretary of State for China, and director for China at the National Security Council’s Asia Directorate. In 2007 he was appointed U.S. ambassador to Malaysia. Ambassador Keith retired from the Department of State in 2011 and subsequently worked as a business consultant, leading the China practice and then the Asia practice at McLarty Associates in Washington, D.C., until 2019. He devoted his professional efforts to promoting cultural, academic, and social exchanges between the United States and Asia to further mutual understanding. Despite a global career spanning the decades from 1980 to 2020, Ambassador Keith and his wife gave priority to their family, church, and community in Reston, Va. The couple enjoyed hiking, swimming, biking, and dog-walking together. Ms. Keith was his partner in every sense, supportive as a spouse, co-parent, and spiritual companion. Amb. Keith’s beloved dog Tessa, a whippet, was a great comfort to him in his waning months. Amb. Keith is survived by his loving wife of 47 years, Jan; children Jason Keith (and spouse Annie), Scott Keith (and spouse Barbara), Emily Fried (and spouse Spencer), Andrew Keith (and spouse Kate), and Elizabeth Lainhart (and spouse Levi); sister Sherry McPhee; cousins Michael and Marci Keener-Eck, Mindy Eck, and Amy Edwards; and grandchildren Lily, Madeline, Landon, Jacqueline, Alexander, Isabella, Marie, Liam, Elliot, Jackson, and Lincoln. n Robert MacCallum, 81, a retired Foreign Service officer with the rank of Minister Counselor, died peacefully at home in Charlottesville, Va., on Oct. 19, 2024. Mr. MacCallum was born in Pittsburgh, Pa., on Aug. 24, 1943. He earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Wabash College in 1965 and a master’s in systems analysis from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1971. Inspired by John F. Kennedy’s immortal words—“Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country”—he joined the Foreign Service in 1965. Early in his career, Mr. MacCallum served as vice consul in Nagoya, area development officer in Cu Chi and Bien Hoa, political-military officer and personnel officer at the State Department, and administrative officer in Vientiane. In 1977, after 18 months of Japanese language training, he served at U.S. Embassy Tokyo as political-military officer, deputy chief of the Mutual Defense Assistance Office, and general services officer. From 1981 to 1982, Mr. MacCallum took leave from the Foreign Service to work as director for the Asia/Pacific region at CPT Corporation in Minneapolis. He returned to the Foreign Service in 1982 as supervisory general services officer in Manila, later serving as administrative counselor of the U.S. Mission to the
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