The Foreign Service Journal, September 2007

Marie Besheer , 91, a retired Foreign Service nurse, died in Lake City, Fla., of a simultaneous heart at- tack and stroke on June 9. Ms. Besheer, who was proud of her Lebanese-Christian heritage, was born in Connecticut in 1916, the fourteenth of 16 children, of whom the first 10 were born in Lebanon. She graduated from The Brooklyn Hospital Training School for Nurses, and earned a B.S. from the University of Oregon Medical School. After working as a private nurse and later as a county staff nurse, Ms. Besheer joined the State Department in 1959. She served in Mogadishu, Cairo, Khartoum, Abidjan, Rawalpin- di, Islamabad, Ouagadougou and Yaounde. Her final post was Phnom Penh, from which she was evacuated with the last departures in 1975. While in Islamabad, Ms. Besheer adopted three children, who survive her. She received Merit Honor Awards in 1965 and 1973. Ms. Besheer greatly enjoyed travel and the cultural diversity of life over- seas, and she was known for her inquisitive mind and warm heart. In wartorn Cambodia, she opened her house each weekend to street chil- dren so that she could provide them with baths, decent food and tempo- rary security. In retirement, Ms. Besheer was very involved in the cultural life of Lake City. Her activities included volunteering in the library, the muse- um and the community theater. Survivors include a sister, Rose Cervasio, and a niece, Josephine Circello, both of Brooklyn, N.Y.; another niece, Elizabeth Young; a nephew, Matthew Besheer; several other nieces and nephews and their descendants; a close friend and com- panion in Ms. Besheer’s final years, Sophia Boano Merritt; and many friends in the Foreign Service, the Peace Corps and the Lake City com- munity. Ulla K. Breithut , 89, widow of the late FSO Richard C. Breithut, died at the Hospice of Palm Beach, Fla., on May 19 from acute leukemia. Mrs. Breithut was originally from Sweden, where Richard Breithut was stationed with the U.S. Treasury Department after World War II. They married and, with their daugh- ter Kristina, moved to London. In 1950, Mr. Breithut joined the Foreign Service, becoming part of Averill Harriman’s team at Embassy London. The couple served a tour of duty in Paris from 1952 to 1954, and were then posted to Washington, D.C., from 1954 to 1959. After an assignment in Ankara, where Mr. Breithut was the American adviser to the Central Treaty Organization from 1959 to 1961, they served in Karachi (1961-1966) and in Tel Aviv (1966- 1970). Following Mr. Breithut’s retire- ment, the couple moved to Highland Beach, Fla. There Mrs. Breithut swam in the ocean every day, played golf and bridge, and took courses in a broad spectrum of subjects at the local university. She often returned to Sweden with her daughter to visit family and friends. Mr. Breithut died in 1987. Mrs. Breithut is survived by her daughter Kristina Strand of Marshall, N.C.; two grandchildren, Brett Miller of Atlanta, Ga., and Elizabeth Moody of Trinity, Fla.; two great-grandchildren, Collin Fryer and Ava Moody, also of Trinity, Fla.; and her sister Inga Manhem of Sweden, as well as many cousins, nieces and nephews, also of Sweden. Richard John Dols , 74, a retired Foreign Service officer, died on June 10 at his home in Midlothian,Va., from Parkinson’s disease. Mr. Dols was born in Glencoe, Minn., and grew up in nearby Cologne, where his father ran the local bank. In 1954, after graduating from the University of Minnesota, he was commissioned a second lieu- tenant in the U.S. Air Force. While waiting to begin active duty, he fin- ished one year of law school at the 80 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 7 I N M EMORY