The Foreign Service Journal, October 2010

68 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / O C T O B E R 2 0 1 0 Nancy Rose Wadhams of Goshen, Conn.; and loving nieces and nephews in Tyrone and Sharpsburg, Ga.; Min- neapolis, Minn. and Bala Cynwyd, Pa. Memorial donations may be made to the Central Vermont Home Health and Hospice, Inc., 600 Granger Rd., Barre VT 05641. Marilen Jison Maher , 67, the wife of retired Foreign Service specialist James C. Maher, died on Aug. 15 at home in Royal Palm Beach, Fla., after a long battle with lung cancer. Mrs. Maher was born in Silay City, Philippines, in 1942, the eldest of eight children. In her youth she participated in numerous social and religious proj- ects. She graduated with a B.S. degree in business from Assumption College in Manila. In 1976, she married James C. Maher, then on a long-term assign- ment with the Department of the Treasury at Embassy Manila. During the couple’s stay there, Mrs. Maher worked part-time in the consular sec- tion. Also during this period, she gave birth to their sons, James and Jason. After moving back to the United States at the end of 1983, she was em- ployed at the Washington Passport Of- fice. Following her husband’s transfer to the Department of State in 1990, Mrs. Maher joined him for assignments in Mogadishu, Athens, Seoul, Washing- ton, D.C., Lima, Ft. Lauderdale and Kuwait. She was employed at each of these posts as an office management specialist. In keeping with her per- sonality, she became involved in the social life of each mission, working on various committees to improve morale and welcome newly assigned person- nel. In Athens, she was deeply in- volved withMother Theresa’s projects, organizing food and clothing drives. After her diagnosis of cancer, Mrs. Maher retired to Florida, where she celebrated the births of her grandchil- dren, Noah James and Chloe Angela. Mrs. Maher is survived by her hus- band, James; her sons, James III and Jason; her daughter-in-law, Angela; and grandchildren Kayla, Noah and Chloe, all of Royal Palm Beach, Fla. James D. McHale , 83, a retired FSO with the U.S. Information Agen- cy, died on July 23 at the Virginia Hos- pital Center in Arlington County after a long battle with cancer. Mr. McHale grew up in Nova Sco- tia and Boston. He served in the U.S. Army’s Mountain Patrol in Germany from 1945 to 1947. He attended Boston College and continued his ed- ucation at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, from which he received an M.A. in 1952. In 1957, Mr. McHale joined the U.S. Information Agency, beginning what would be a challenging 30-year career as a cultural/press officer. After postings in Burma and South Africa, he went on to open SamNeua, a com- munist hotspot in northern Laos, thereafter undertaking assignments to communist-threatened Jakarta and Surabaya, and then peaceful Singa- pore. Further postings took him to Belgium, Niger and Phnom Penh, fromwhich he was evacuated. He was then posted to Hong Kong, Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Con- go) and Congo. Earlier, during assignments in Washington, D.C., he directed the China Branch of the Voice of America just as China began opening to the West. He was detailed to the Armed Forces Staff College in 1965. A lan- guage scholar who spoke French, Ger- man, Indonesian and Mandarin, Mr. McHale studied Arabic and Japanese in reirement. While posted in Niger, Mr. McHale spearheaded initial Western aware- ness of the plight of the Taureg tribes by bringing U.S. journalists to the area. This initial coverage turned into ongoing updates by the American press and helped bring needed aid and development to them. In Phnom Penh, his work as the press officer brought early warning of the ensuing genocide by the Khmer Rouge. Colleagues recall his immense compassion for the Cambodian peo- ple and his work to ensure the U.S. government played a role in helping them. He personally assisted many to exit the country at the fall of the gov- ernment in 1975. A talented pianist and singer, Mr. McHale greatly enlivened home and social gatherings. A fine writer, his sto- ries found popularity in the Foreign Service Journal and elsewhere. Mr. McHale’s first wife, Swedish- born Anita, died of Alzheimer’s disease in McLean, Va., in 1988. In retire- ment, he devoted his time, talents and leadership to raising funds to assist Alzheimer’s victims. In 2003, he married Barbara Hop- per. She was a great strength to him in his long battle with cancer and was by his side at the time of his death. Other survivors include three daughters, Ann Hope McHale Hatch- er of El Segundo, Calif., Christine Mc- Hale Kling of Felton, Calif., and Jen- nifer McHale Hall of Santa Cruz, Calif.; and eight grandchildren. I N M E M O R Y