THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | SEPTEMBER 2024 85 the Brooklyn Heights Montessori School from 2004 to 2007. With Mr. Buss’ retirement from the U.S. Foreign Service in 2006, the couple relocated to Poughkeepsie, N.Y., where Mr. Larson’s father joined them for several years. In May 2010, after same-sex marriage was made legal in the U.S., the couple wed in Springfield, Mass. Their large house and property in Poughkeepsie afforded ample opportunities to host siblings, cousins, nieces, and nephews; pursue Mr. Larson’s passions for baking, gardening, and entertaining; and eventually adopt a beloved pet boxer named Sophie. Mr. Larson continued to teach at the Randolph School in nearby Wappingers Falls until 2011. He is survived by his spouse, David, and boxer Sophie; brothers Tim, Dan, and Eric, and their families; and beloved cousin Robin and her daughter, Jean. Consistent with his lifelong dedication to education, Mr. Larson’s remains have been gifted to the Albany Medical College to educate health care professionals of tomorrow and to investigate important questions of medical science. Donations in Mr. Larson’s name may be made to the American Cancer Society or a charity of one’s choice. n Howard Dean Pittman, 67, a retired Foreign Service officer and former ambassador, died suddenly at his residence in Washington, D.C., on June 4, 2024. Born in Norfolk, Va., on Aug. 31, 1956, to Paul Howard Pittman and Betty Pittman, Mr. Pittman was 6 years old when the family moved to his father’s hometown of Tylertown, Miss. Growing up in a small town with sisters Shane and Elise, he had a childhood filled with going to his grandmother’s house for Sunday dinners, playing neighborhood games of kick the can, scouting adventures, and sneaking off to the bakery in the early morning hours before school. Perhaps working as a cub reporter and photographer for the family business, the Tylertown Times, sparked his interest in politics. Considered one of the nation’s best small-town newspapers, the paper was a principled voice for equality and progress during the tense Civil Rights Movement. His mother was active in promoting tolerance and fairness. Moved by the example of his parents, Mr. Pittman developed a love for political participation and a strong sense of place, service, and ethics. While earning a BA in political science from Millsaps College in Mississippi, he interned with Senator Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.). After graduation, he entered the Peace Corps and taught English in a remote village in Gabon. Next, he headed to Washington, D.C., and dove into politics, working as a legislative assistant for U.S. Representative Wayne Dowdy (D-Miss.) for eight years and subsequently as his reelection campaign manager. He earned an MA from The Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies before joining the State Department in 1989. Throughout his Foreign Service career, Mr. Pittman served in numerous senior leadership positions within the State Department, at the National Security Council, and overseas. He sought out opportunities to serve in conflictaffected states, promoting peacebuilding and reconciliation. His early postings included Guyana, Mozambique, and Bosnia-Herzegovina, as well as a year as a diplomat in residence with the National Democratic included stints at Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, Pa., and Hamilton College in Clinton, N.Y. In 1985 Mr. Larson joined the Peace Corps and was assigned to Seychelles Polytechnic, in Mahe, where he instructed aspiring high school science teachers. While on assignment in Seychelles, he met his future spouse, David Buss, a diplomat at the U.S. embassy. The couple returned to the U.S. in 1988. To enhance his credentials for future overseas assignments with Mr. Buss, Mr. Larson enrolled in early childhood education certification programs at George Mason University in Arlington, Va. In 1994 Mr. Buss was assigned to the newly independent nation of Estonia. Mr. Larson accompanied him and became a founding director and educator at the new American International School in Tallinn. When Mr. Buss was assigned to Vienna in 1996, Mr. Larson taught kindergarten at the American International School of Vienna, a position he occupied until the couple’s next overseas transfer to Paris in 2000. Unfortunately, because the U.S. did not at the time recognize same-sex members of household as legitimate spouses, as a matter of reciprocity, the government of France denied Mr. Larson a visa that would have allowed him to teach in Paris. What would otherwise have been a dream assignment was professionally unsatisfying, and the couple curtailed after two years of a four-year assignment. In 2002 Mr. Buss was assigned to the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. While in New York City, Mr. Larson earned an MS in education at Hunter College and was employed at
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