The Foreign Service Journal, November 2016

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | NOVEMBER 2016 65 the Credit Union National Association inWashington, D.C., before embarking on an academic and writing career. He was a senior research fellow and adjunct professor at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, where he founded and directed the Cultural Change Institute. Between 1981 and 2001, Mr. Har- rison was a visiting scholar at the Center for International Studies at the Massa- chusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University’s Weatherhead Center for Inter- national Affairs and Stanford University’s Hoover Institution. Mr. Harrison wrote numerous books, beginning in 1985 with Underdevelop- ment Is a State of Mind: The Latin Ameri- can Case . Here he laid the premises of work to come: first, that good intentions, hope, enthusiasm and ample funding are insufficient to propel the development of countries into the modern world; and, sec- ond, that some cultures are more prone to progress than others andmore successful at creating the cultural capital that encour- ages democratic governance, social justice for all and the elimination of poverty. Mr. Harrison’s subsequent works include Who Prospers? How Cultural Values Shape Economic and Political Success (1992), The Pan-American Dream (1997), The Central Liberal Truth: How Politics Can Change a Culture and Save It from Itself (2006) and Jews, Confucians and Protestants: Cultural Capital and the End of Multiculturalism (2012). He was co-editor, with Samuel P. Hun- tington, of Culture Matters: How Values Shape Human Progress (2000) and, with Jerome Kagan, of Developing Cultures: Essays on Cultural Change (2006). His articles have appeared widely. A lifelong Red Sox fan, Mr. Harrison was a nationally-ranked junior tennis player. After falling in love withMartha’s Vineyard during his first visit in the late 1950s, he became an avid and regular golfer at Farm Neck Golf Club there when he was not listening to Brahms. Mr. Harrison was preceded in death by his second wife, Patricia Crane Harrison; his parents, David and Jenny Harrison; and his brother, Robert Arthur Harrison. He is survived by his first wife, the mother of his children, Polly Fortier Harrison of Washington, D.C.; his three daughters, Julia Harrison of Norwalk, Conn., Beth Harrison of Lincoln, Mass., and Amy Har- rison Donnelly of Ridgewood, N.J.; and his grandchildren, Dylan and Georgia Grady, Max and HarryThébaud, andMegan, Jack and Nora Donnelly. n Shirley Ann Kennon, 91, passed away peacefully on Aug. 22 in Pleasanton, Calif. She was born in Detroit, Mich., on Feb. 18, 1925, to Helen and Robert Ernst. Raised in Detroit and Indianapolis, Ind., she graduated valedictorian of her class from South Shore High School in Chicago, Ill. During WorldWar II she traveled west by train to join her father to go to college. First, she attended the University of Cali- fornia, Los Angeles, but later transferred to UC, Berkeley, where she majored in political science and graduated in 1948. That year she alsomet andmarried Law- rence John Kennon, a fellow student. After he graduated, the couple decided they wanted to be involved in world affairs and the place to be was Washington, D.C. They set out in their car with all their possessions and drove across the country. There they both began working for the U.S. government and their two daughters, Naomi Elaine and Carol Ellen were born. WhenMr. Kennon was selected by the State Department as a Foreign Service officer, their life of adventures abroad began. Their first foreign assignment was to Niagara Falls, Canada. They went on to Genoa, Rome, Tel Aviv, NewDelhi, Islam- abad andThe Hague. In each of these places, Mrs. Kennon would learn the language and culture and create a home for her family while also performing her duties as the wife of a diplomat. She was creative in sewing for herself and her daughters. She cooked and entertained, and was a Girl Scout leader. On several occasions, Mrs. Kennon was called upon to handle difficult situations. The posting in Israel ended abruptly due to the 1967 Six-Day War. She had to quickly pack up and escort the girls back home to California. Her husband would not be able to join themuntil the fall, so she decided to create some “adventure” by buying a VW camper and “camping” all the way to the West Coast. In Islamabad, angry protesters overran and burned the embassy, briefly holding Mr. Kennon hostage, in 1979. Once again, Mrs. Kennon was evacuated, although by this time her girls were grown and living independently. Mrs. Kennon was able to help the other evacuated families and was instrumental then in establishing the Fam- ily Liaison Office at the State Department. After their daughters were grown, Mrs. Kennon went back to school to take art classes, where she found a passion in cre- ating collages, drawing and paintings. In 1984, whenMr. Kennon retired from the Foreign Service, the couple returned to the Bay Area. They bought a house in the Oakland hills with a spectacular view of the Golden Gate Bridge. Mrs. Kennon enjoyed several years of caring for grandchildren and pursuing her art work. But in October 1991 trag- edy struck: a massive fire destroyed their home, all of their mementos from travel and her art work. They set about rebuilding the house andmoved back in within a year. Mr. Kennon died in December 2000, andMrs. Kennon decided that living in