The Foreign Service Journal, September 2003

insisted that lying corrupts govern- ment and distorts its policies. He firmly believed in personal responsi- bility and never lost faith that people of whatever background or view might change their minds. He showed a lifelong preference for playing a vital role in helping others make accomplishments. In 2001, he moved to Bloom- ington, Ind., where he was a resident of Meadowood Retirement Comm- unity. Mr. Keppel is survived by his wife Grace Marjorie Wood Keppel, whom he married in 1952, and his son David, also of Bloomington. David is working to complete a book, begun jointly with his father, on “creative uncertainty” as the difference bet- ween life and machines, and its polit- ical implications. The family asks that contributions be made to the American Friends Service Committee (1501 Cherry Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102; http://www.afsc.org) o r Oxfam- America (P.O. Box 1745, Boston, MA 02105; http://www.oxfamamerica.org). Richard Lankford , 55, beloved husband, father, and career Foreign Service officer died suddenly on Good Friday, April 18. At the time of his death he was the spokesperson and director of press and information for Embassy Paris. He was also the ambassador’s speechwriter. Born in Shreveport, La., Mr. Lankford received his bachelor’s degree from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. After military service with the U.S Army in Korea, he received a Master of Fine Arts degree from Temple University in Philadelphia. After leaving Temple he became assistant artistic director at the McCarter Theatre in Princeton. A lifelong public ser- vant, he worked for eight years for the Wage Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor in Philadelphia before joining the Foreign Service. There he volun- teered his time teaching English in a local prison and working with young people interested in the the- ater. Richard Lankford entered the Foreign Service in 1984. Public affairs assignments with the former U.S. Information Agency took him to Kinshasa, Algiers, Maseru, Tel Aviv, Quito, Almaty and Bratislava, where he was also acting DCM. After the consolidation of USIA with the State Department, he was posted to France, the country to which he had already planned to retire. An active Episcopalian, Mr. Lankford was a member of the American Cathedral in Paris, serving on the vestry, as lector, and as chair- man of the education committee. Several friends spoke at his funeral at the cathedral, including Canon Sharon Gracen and FSO Tania Chomiak-Salvi. Canon Gracen said, “Richard’s work was revelation — he strove to communicate the ideals of America wherever he was, through his words and his presence. He was a man of deep faith and patriotism in the best sense.” Ms. Chomiak-Salvi spoke of “Richard’s extraordinary quality … his deep conviction that it is more impor- tant to support, teach and encourage your staff than to advance your own interests. He genuinely loved the Foreign Service. But unlike so many of us, he was under no illusion that the job was about his own personal advancement. He knew — and he practiced this — that his job was to encourage the most out of the people who worked for him.” His many friends and colleagues throughout the world will remember Richard Lankford that way, as a warm and car- ing man who loved his family, his friends, and his work. Because the study and love of languages was such a central part of his life — he attained fluency in Russian, Slovak, French and Spanish, and enjoyed applying his language skills to make lifelong friends in his different postings — his family wanted to make a memor- ial that would directly relate to this aspect of his work. During their time in Kazakhstan his son James devel- oped a love of Russian that led him to Oberlin College, where he majored in Russian and Eastern European Studies. It seemed fitting to create something in Richard Lankford’s name that would help students studying Russian. A memorial fund is being estab- lished at Oberlin that will provide for an annual Russian prize and an annual stipend for study abroad. Contributions may be made to the Richard O. Lankford Memorial Fund at Oberlin College and forwarded to Patricia Joan Maurer, Director of Stewardship, Oberlin College, Bosworth Hall 108, 50 West Lorain Street, Oberlin, OH 44074-1089. Mr. Lankford is survived by his wife Barbara, a Foreign Service offi- cer posted in Paris, and their two children, Gillian and James. Kenneth W. Linde , 80, retired FSO, died on March 24 in Helsinki, Finland. He is survived by his wife of 53 years, Inga-Lill of Helsinki. S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 3 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 77 I N M E M O R Y