THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JULY-AUGUST 2026 67 IN MEMORY n Gary L. Bayer, 84, a retired Foreign Service officer with USAID, died on March 16, 2026, in Cusco, Peru, surrounded by his family. Mr. Bayer was born on March 8, 1942, near Neenah, Wis. The second person in his family to attend college, he joined his elder brother at Lawrence College in Appleton, Wis., in 1960. Mr. Bayer began his adventures overseas as a Peace Corps volunteer in Peru (1966–1967). He joined the U.S. Foreign Service in 1967 and served until 1969 as a USAID refugee adviser in Vietnam, where he became adept at learning dialects and developed an appreciation for Southeast Asian cuisine. In 1970 he married Nelly Arias, his companion for 56 years. In Laos (1971–1975), Mr. Bayer regularly met with the Crown Prince and the Red Prince for cigars and brandy. He was even captured and held (for a few hours) as a POW by Pathet Lao forces. Luckily, his family recalls, his knack for languages stood him in good stead and he talked himself out of captivity and across the river to safer ground. He was on the last Air America flight out of Laos to Bangkok after the Pathet Lao took control of the country. Mr. Bayer’s next posting was Botswana (1976–1978), where he taught agriculture extension at the Botswana Agriculture College and regularly invited his students to his home on weekends for lunch, lively discussion, and laughter. Serving subsequently in Lesotho (1978–1980) and Bolivia (1980–1984), he would bring along his young son on field trips to project sites, thereby guaranteeing that another Bayer generation would join USAID. He then served in Panama (1984–1987), the Canal Zone a great assignment for a Wisconsin kid who loved to fish for bass. In Sudan (1988–1990), he would drive across the desert and sail down the Nile, making friends among the locals wherever he went. Posted to Uganda (1990–1994), he supported the establishment of Lake Mburo National Park and protection of the gorillas of Bwinde National Forest. Sri Lanka was Mr. Bayer’s final official USAID assignment (1995–1999). Retirement, however, was short-lived. Mr. Bayer was soon off to Mozambique with World Vision, where he implemented the USAID agriculture portfolio (2000–2008). During this period, he took several epic road trips on the dusty roads of Kruger National Park, Namibia, and beyond. In 2009 the Bayers settled in Cusco, where he is remembered by a large community of local inhabitants and civic groups who enjoyed his sense of humor, his willingness to lend a helping hand, and his overall love of life. Mr. Bayer is survived by his spouse, Nelly of Cusco; son, Tom (and spouse, Marinyl), and grandson, Cyrus of Biliran Province in the Philippines; and brother, Melvin Bayer of Jensen Beach, Fla. n John L. Beahler, MD, 95, a retired Foreign Service medical officer, died on February 24, 2026, in Alexandria, Va. Mr. Beahler was born in New Mexico in 1930 but moved with his family to El Paso, Texas, where he spent his early years and attended schools in the area, including the University of Texas at El Paso. In 1951 he joined the U.S. Air Force (USAF) as a cadet and was commissioned as an officer, earning his wings as a navigator-bombardier, and was assigned to the 95th Bomb Squadron in Korea. Following four years in the USAF, he returned to the university to complete his premedical education and was accepted into Southwestern Medical School of the University of Texas in Dallas. He received his MD in 1961 and completed his internship at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami. Dr. Beahler joined the State Department’s Office of Medical Services in 1962 as a regional medical officer. Posted to Thailand, he served as medical officer for the U.S. embassy staff. He was then assigned as regional medical officer to India, Nepal, Bolivia, Kenya, and the Dominican Republic. During his 23-year career, Dr. Beahler also served in the Office of Medical Services in Washington, D.C., on two tours, became deputy medical director, and was later appointed senior deputy assistant secretary of State for medical affairs. He retired from the Foreign Service in 1985 but remained in the D.C. area. He developed a quality improvement program for the State Department Office of Medical Services and became a medical consultant on medical clearances for the Fulbright Foundation. Dr. Beahler later served as a medical adviser to Access America, a medical assistance and travel insurance branch of Blue Cross. In 1982–1983, he was elected president of the Federal Physicians Association. Throughout his career and retirement, Dr. Beahler and his wife traveled extensively, visiting more than 125 countries. The family is grateful to two people who were important to Dr. Beahler in his declining years: Will Edington, his neighbor and dear friend who helped him in so many ways, and Christine Robella Parisi, a physical therapist. They recall fondly how Ms. Parisi and the Robella family “adopted” Dr. Beahler following the death of his wife and invited him to their family holiday dinners.
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