The Foreign Service Journal, November 2012

72 NOVEMBER 2012 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL AFSA NEWS PHOTOSBYDONNAAYERST BY DONNA AYERST, EDITOR Ambassador Thomas Pickering speaks to family members and the hundreds who gathered in the rotunda of San Franciso City Hall to honor the life of Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens. Celebrating a Courageous Diplomat and Son of California On Oct. 16, as family, friends and members of the pub- lic took their seats, two large screens flanking the rotunda’s grand staircase in San Francisco’s majestic City Hall displayed the video of Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens introducing himself to the people of Libya. Amb. Chris Stevens and three other Americans were killed when terrorists attacked the U.S. mission in Benghazi on Sept. 11. Hundreds of people came to mourn the tragic death of Chris, but also to celebrate his exemplary life. As the service began, a string quartet played Mozart and Shubert, with Chris’s step- brother, David Commanday, playing his mother’s cello. What followed was a progres- sion of speakers who shared vignettes, memories and stories of their brother, friend or colleague. Despite the monumen- tal space, the love shared by those who knew Chris best made it seem cozy. His brother, Tom Stevens, and sisters Anne Stevens Sullivan and Hilary Stevens Koziol, shared childhood memories of an older brother who was mischievous, funny and could talk you into doing things you didn’t want to do but did them anyway. Tom Stevens said that he never got into a fight with Chris, ever. But that didn’t mean Chris didn’t talk him into launching an attack on their sister Anne. Over laughs from the audience, Tom said, “I still don’t know why.” The siblings visited Chris wherever he was posted, and always felt a sense of importance by the attention Chris paid his family when he returned to California. His sister, Anne, recalled how Chris immediately took his place in the family, eating and drinking, playing tennis and listening to their stories. “When he was home, he was home,” she said. Steve McDonald, Chris’s roommate at the Univer- sity of California, Berkeley, shared, “Some say, ‘don’t sweat the small stuff,’ but I think Chris was successful because he paid attention to the little details and common courtesies that showed the world he cared.” Chris enjoyed playing tennis with The Honorable Ali Suleiman Aujali, the Libyan ambassador to the United States. Amb. Aujali regards his friendship with Chris as highly as he regards his place in Libya’s history. Look- ing directly into the eyes of Chris’s family, he told them that Chris would always be a hero of Libya’s revolution, that Chris has become a part of Libya’s history and will never be forgotten. “You sent us your best diplomat, but unfortunately, we were not able to protect him,” he said. “I am sorry we were not able to protect him.” Thomas Pickering, former U.S. ambassador and under secretary of state, reiterated by saying, “Chris was among the very best our Foreign Ser- vice has to offer.” “He was our leader when it came to Libya,” noted George Schultz, former sec- retary of state. “Chris was the living embodiment of everything an exemplary diplomat should be: selfless and inquisitive, driven yet principled,” said Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Oct. 2. “From the Peace Corps to the State Department, his creativity, charisma and intel- ligence made him a model spokesman on the front lines of American diplomacy.”