78 SEPTEMBER 2023 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL On his return to Washington, he served as deputy director of the Office of West African Affairs (1978-1980). From 1980 to 1984, as consul general in Johannesburg during a seminal period of that country’s history, Mr. Trail facilitated the release of political prisoners, protected the freedom of journalists, and organized behind-the-scenes electoral negotiations. Professionally, he met Sharon Manfred, a low-income-housing expert working in Soweto, whom he subsequently married. From 1984 to 1987, he was deputy chief of mission (DCM) in Nairobi, where he helped advance a nascent democratic movement evolving under an authoritarian regime. He also played a key role in assisting the U.S. delegation to a successful conclusion of the U.N. World Conference on Women in Nairobi in 1985. As ambassador in Lilongwe from 1988 to 1991, he devoted much of his attention to working with U.S. and multilateral aid agencies to help the Malawian government manage a vast influx of refugees (then the largest in Africa) from the neighboring Mozambican civil war. Quietly, Amb. Trail also prodded the government to ameliorate conditions for political prisoners while seeking to temper its repressive instincts. From 1991 to 1993, he served as DCM in Nigeria, where he oversaw the embassy’s transfer from Lagos to the new capital in Abuja. Retiring from the Foreign Service in 1993 with both Superior and Meritorious Honor Awards, Amb. Trail returned to South Africa where he formed a consultancy with three retired newspaper editors. Their annual monograph, South Africa at a Glance, is still in publication. He also helped found Gun Free South Africa in 1995, which has grown to be one of the country’s most important nongovernmental organizations. From 2000 to 2010, Amb. Trail and his wife divided their time between South Africa and North Carolina before settling permanently in Pinehurst. Reconnecting with the Christian faith of his childhood, Amb. Trail steadily assumed greater leadership positions in his North Carolina church, where he enjoyed singing in the choir. Taking charge of building a new Sunday school and youth center, he raised $3 million for its construction, which he supervised and considered his proudest achievement. During a career spent abroad, Amb. Trail always returned to his Pennsylvania roots and cherished a deep connection with extended family. His thirst for knowledge was unquenchable, and his love of history inspired him to read several books at a time until the day he died. Family members recall that he never tired of watching a good movie, often more than once, especially musicals. In retirement, he also perfected his golf game in Pinehurst, home to one of the largest concentrations of courses in the nation. He is survived by wife Sharon, three children, 12 grandchildren, many greatgrandchildren, and three siblings. n Geraldine S. Ward, 87, a retired Foreign Service officer, died on March 21, 2023, in Albuquerque, N.M., from complications of COVID-19. Ms. Ward was born in 1936 in Tulsa, Okla., to Helen M. (Watson) Mulrenin and John G. Mulrenin. While serving in the U.S. Air Force as a flight attendant in the Military Air Transport Service, she participated in Operation Safe Haven, which was responsible for airlifting Hungarian refugees from West Germany to New Jersey (1956-1957). Upon leaving the Air Force, she attended Tulsa Business School, after which she worked for Hearst Publishing Company. Ms. Ward joined the Foreign Service in 1962 and served in Beirut, Paris, and Bridgetown as a consular officer. Following the Barbados assignment, she took a leave of absence and accompanied her husband, Larry, then a Foreign Service specialist, and their two sons on assignments to Lahore, Brussels, Nairobi, and Bonn. Becoming an active consular officer again in 1978, she received assignments to London and Manila. In 1984 she was assigned as a refugee and migration affairs officer back in the State Department. After retiring in 1991, she assumed a position in the Refugee and Migration Services Office as a rehired annuitant. Ms. Ward retired for the last time in January 1994. She and her husband moved to Albuquerque, N.M., in May 1998. A member of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, she loved visiting local Indigenous open markets and sharing these cultural elements of her community with her family. She was always eager to spend time in various museums, exhibits, and art galleries and had countless stories and facts to supplement her experiences. Her diverse Foreign Service assignments allowed her to expose her sons to widely varied environments and cultures that were integral to their upbringing. Her grandchildren have fond memories of her visits to their home state of Virginia during their childhood. Their ventures to New Mexico to spend time with her during their adolescent years were full of exploration of the state’s disparate areas. Her sons were able to fly from the East Coast to spend time with her in her final months.
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