The Foreign Service Journal, November 2007

70 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / N O V E M B E R 2 0 0 7 church in Vienna, Va., and the Unitar- ian Universalist Congregation of Fairfax, Va. He enjoyed reading the social sciences and humanities and was interested in his family genealogy: he was a descendant of Nicholas Ide, who was at Plymouth Rock with Miles Standish, and was distantly related to William Brown Ide, the only presi- dent of the Republic of California. Survivors include his wife of 58 years, Helen Louise French Ide, of Vienna, Va.; seven children: Gretchen Ide Kossack of Shrewsbury, Mass.; David Chandler Ide of Arlington County; Jennifer Taylor-Ide of Frank- lin, W. Va.; Rebecca Ide Lowe of Ojai, Calif.; Peter McDonald Ide of Falls Church, Va., and Tunis; Susan Ide Patton of Vienna, Va.; and Nicholas Carter Ide of McLean, Va.; and 11 grandchildren. Charles Edward Marthinsen , 76, a retired FSO and former ambas- sador to Qatar, died on July 12 in Carlisle, Pa. Mr. Marthinsen was raised in Erie, Pa., the son of Kathleen and Alexan- der Marthinsen, and the brother of Robert Marthinsen, Sandra Maries and Alan Marthinsen. After graduat- ing from Academy High School in 1949, he attended Gannon University, where he received his bachelor’s de- gree in 1953. From 1953 to 1955, he served in the U.S. Army, after which he entered the Foreign Service. Mr. Marthinsen’s 32-year diplo- matic career was spent largely in the Middle East and included postings to Bangladesh (then East Pakistan), Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Egypt, Libya and Qatar. His final posting was as deputy commandant for interna- tional affairs at the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle. He retired from the Foreign Service in 1987. In retirement, Mr. Marthinsen did consulting work and was also engaged in a number of civic activities, includ- ing supporting the local theater and the Old Neighborhoods League. He was a member of the Harrisburg Foreign Policy Association, as well as the Torch Club, where he served as president for one year. Survivors include his wife of almost 48 years, Kate, of Carlisle, Pa.; two sons, Guy of Pittsford, N.Y., and Hugh of Tampa, Fla.; and two grandsons, Grant and Adam. Patricia Whipple Olson , 73, the wife of retired FSO Oscar Julius Olson Jr., died on Aug. 14 at her home in Springfield, Va. Born in Milwaukee, Wis., Mrs. Olson grew up in Texas — eventually moving to Corpus Christi, where she met her husband — and graduated from the University of Houston with a radio/TV degree. The couple was married in Bremerhaven, where Mr. Olson was serving in the Army. His Foreign Service career subsequently took them to Venezuela, Spain, Mexi- co, West Berlin, Panama and Ecua- dor. Besides raising three children, Mrs. Olson’s activities included lay ministry on three continents, a stint as community liaison officer in Quito, and work as assistant to Elizabeth Campbell helping to put Washington, D.C., radio’s WETA-FM on the air. During their Foreign Service assign- ment to West Berlin, she was asked to air her own show, “People, Places and Pat,” on Armed Forces TV. It was an effort to encourage military personnel and their dependents to take advan- tage of the many cultural and enter- tainment opportunities available in that exciting city. The program fea- tured interviews with Berlin luminar- ies and visiting Americans, such as James Michener. Pat Olson thrived on the challenge of meeting new people and adapting to different cultures. That included shifting from the warmth of Latin American “besos” and “abrazos” to the cooler cultures of Germany, and even Boston, while Mr. Olson had an academic year at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. Her children recall fondly her admonition to “bloom where you are planted,” which helped them cope with Foreign Service life. After their retirement from the Foreign Service, Mrs. Olson entered Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C., and was ordained as a United Methodist minister. Her pastoral appointments were in Culpeper and Fauquier counties in Virginia and at the United Methodist Church in Springfield, Va. Following her retirement, she remained active in ministry, preaching, teaching, leading retreats and serving as chaplain at Inova Fairfax Hospital. Survivors include her husband of 51 years, Oscar, three children and four grandchildren. Dar Jalene (“Dar”) Prybil , 71, a retired FSO, died on June 25 in Paris, France. Ms. Prybil was a native of Enid, Okla. Her early career began in the U.S. section of NATO headquarters in Paris, and she continued with that office when it was moved to Brussels. In 1970, she was transferred to the Los Angeles District Office of the I N M E M O R Y