The Foreign Service Journal, September 2021

76 SEPTEMBER 2021 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL and Joseph Akpati; and a brother, Ambas- sador (Ret.) Steve Nolan (Judy). In accordance with his wishes, memorial donations may be made in his name to the Catholic Relief Services ( www.crs.org) . n Larry L. Palmer , 71, a retired FSO and former ambassador, passed away in Washington, D.C., on April 21. Born in Augusta, Ga., on July 13, 1949, to Rev. Roosevelt V. and Gladys Young Palmer, Mr. Palmer was the youngest of four children. He received his primary and secondary education in Augusta, graduating as valedictorian of the class of 1966 from T. W. Josey High School, after which he earned a bachelor’s degree from Emory University in 1970. The following year he joined the Peace Corps and served as a volunteer in Libe- ria, teaching high school while working toward a master’s degree in education with an emphasis in African history from Texas Southern University, which he completed in 1973. He earned a Doctor of Education degree with a concentration in higher education administration and African studies at Indiana University in 1978. He then taught at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C., from 1978 to 1981. Three years into a university teach- ing career, Mr. Palmer decided that he wanted to “see the world.” He then passed the Foreign Service exam and left academia to join the U.S. Foreign Service in 1982. His first overseas assignment was as vice consul in the Dominican Republic (1982-1984). Next, he served as person- nel officer in Uruguay, with concurrent responsibility for Paraguay (1984-1986). Returning stateside, he served as staff assistant to the assistant secretary of State for African affairs from 1986 to 1987, fol- lowed by a tour in West Africa as coun- selor for administration in Sierra Leone from 1987 to 1989. In 1989, Mr. Palmer became a Pearson Fellow, serving as assistant to the president of the University of Texas, El Paso, Diana Natalicio, with the tasks of promoting the North American Free Trade Agreement, creating faculty and student exchange opportunities in uni- versities throughout Mexico, and serving as university consultant for international affairs. After two years as a fellow, he served as personnel officer in South Korea from 1991 to 1994, then returned to the Dominican Republic as counselor for administration (1994-1998). Returning to the Washington, D.C., area from 1998 to 1999, Mr. Palmer was delighted to be a member of the Depart- ment of State’s Senior Seminar and was honored to become president of his seminar class. Family members recall that he thoroughly enjoyed that year of learning about the lesser-known interests and capabilities of our government. After the Senior Seminar, he was assigned as deputy chief of mission in Ecuador, where for two years of his three- year tour he served as chargé d’affaires, remaining until July 2002. In September 2002 he was appointed U.S. ambassador to Honduras, where he is well remembered for increasing local participation in the annual July 4 celebra- tion from 200 people, usually invited for an indoor cocktail, to around 3,000 people treated to an outside full-blown fiesta featuring three types of musical bands and enough food for guests to “carry some home” by his third and final year in 2005. On leaving Honduras, Amb. Palmer served as president of the Inter-American Foundation, an independent agency of the State Department, until he was again called into service as U.S. ambassador to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, a position from which he retired from the Foreign Service in 2016. After a brief period of retirement, Amb. Palmer joined Howard University as ambassador in residence. He had come full circle—once again flourishing in the university campus environment he loved. He held this position until his passing. In the end, Larry L. Palmer will be remembered for being a variety of things to a variety of people: ambassador, teacher, mentor, husband, father, base- ball coach, friend. Family members and friends recall that he took on each role with the same blend of dogged deter- mination and swashbuckling flair with which he approached life, in the words of his favorite karaoke song, “My Way.” Ambassador Palmer is survived by his wife of 46 years, Lucille Saundle Palmer; his son, Vincent (wife, Heydi); two grandchildren; his brother, Charles, and sisters, Marylou and Seygbo; and a host of nieces, nephews and cousins. n George Edward Shepard Jr. , 81, a former Foreign Service officer with USAID, passed away at his home in Chapel Hill, N.C., on March 1, after cou- rageously fighting a relentless, long-term vascular illness. Mr. Shepard was born on Oct. 3, 1939, to George E. Shepard Sr. (Bo) and Mary Lou Huffman of Chapel Hill. In 1964 he earned his undergraduate degree at the University of North Carolina and, in 1966, an MBA fromThe George Washington University. In October 1967, he was hired by USAID as a refugee adviser and served in the Civil Operations and Revolution- ary Development Support program in Vietnam from 1967 to 1969.