The Foreign Service Journal - November 2017

72 NOVEMBER 2017 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL where she began to practice Buddhism, a philosophy that remained important to her for the rest of her life. An accomplished artist, particularly in watercolor and pastels, Mrs. Fischer also blessed those around her with her beautiful singing voice. She was a member of her church choir and enjoyed singing harmony and rounds with her family. Mrs. Fischer was predeceased by her son, Forrest Glen. She is survived by her husband, Forrest; her daughter, Jacqueline Fischer (and partner, RonMiller) of Wood- stock, Vt.; her daughter, Jill Fischer (and husband, JeffWilcox) of Lebanon, N.H.; and four grandchildren (who affectionately called her “Buela”)—Luke and Clayton (aka Woody) Giveen, Daniel Forrest Mur- ray and Risa Delappe Estep. Q Michael Francis Gallagher, 71, a retired Foreign Service officer, died on Dec. 2, 2016, at Georgetown University Hospital inWashington, D.C., fromprostate cancer. A native of Philadelphia, Pa., Mr. Gal- lagher received his B.A. fromLaSalle Uni- versity in 1967 and his MBA fromTemple University in 1972. He joined the U.S. Army as a commissioned officer in 1967 and was stationed for three years in Germany, where he was a platoon leader and battle commander of Nike missile units during the VietnamWar. He later earned a mid-career fellow- ship fromPrinceton University in 1980 and is a 1993 graduate of Canada’s National Defence College. Mr. Gallagher entered the Foreign Service in 1973. He began his career as finance administrative officer in Abidjan and switched to economics before trans- ferring to Tunis. He served as an econom- ics officer in London and Jakarta before spending three years as minister-counselor for economic affairs at the U.S. Mission to the European Union in Brussels. While posted as consul general in Van- couver, B.C., where he managed negotia- tion of the Pacific salmon agreement and maintenance of the Columbia River Treaty, Mr. Gallagher was promoted to the Senior Foreign Service. In 2001 he was assigned to the Office of the High Representative to the United Nations in Sarajevo. There, he directed 48 professionals from 14 countries in an attempt to assist the three ethnic groups to govern themselves after the Bosnian War. His final overseas post was deputy chief of mission and chargé d’affairs in The Hague, where he worked with senior Dutch officials on Afghanistan, the war on terror, curbing international crime and G-20 issues. He also worked with the inter- national courts inThe Hague. On retiring in 2010, Mr. Gallagher received the prestigiousThomas Jefferson Award fromAmerican Citizens Abroad. Mr. Gallagher then settled in Bethany Beach, Del., and continued to work part- time at the State Department, including returning as interim chargé inThe Hague and then in Brussels. He also worked as an adjunct instructor of international management in LaSalle University’s MBA program in Philadelphia, Pa. Friends and family members remem- ber Mr. Gallagher as a savvy and kind individual with a larger-than-life personal- ity. They recall that he wasn’t just a teacher in the classroom; he was a student in life and role-modeled this for his entire family throughout his career. He taught each of his family members the importance of liv- ing life fully, seizing moments and oppor- tunities, always exploring and believing the best in others. Mr. Gallagher is survived by his wife of 49 years, Martha Janzer Gallagher, of Ocean View, Del.; daughters Jennifer Ann Gallagher, Monica Gallagher Sakala, Emily Martha Gallagher and Annie Gallagher Riehl and their spouses; and three grand- children. Q Phyllis E. Hechtman, 76, the wife of retired FSO Robert Hechtman, died on Aug. 18 at Fairfax Hospital after a more than 30-year battle with multiple scle- rosis and, more recently, dementia and throat cancer. Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., on Dec. 29, 1941, Mrs. Hechtman was raised by her widowedmother, Lydia. She graduated fromBrooklyn College, where she was a member of the Sigma Delta Tau sorority, with a degree in physical education. She then moved to California to pursue a master’s degree at the Univer- sity of California, Santa Barbara. Before completing the degree, she returned to New York and married Robert Hechtman on June 22, 1964. His Foreign Service career took the couple first to Chile, where their son, Douglas, was born in 1970. Later posts included Guatemala and Panama. Phyllis was a physical education and health instructor inWashington, D.C., public schools and an enthusiastic sub- scriber to the Washington Ballet and the Signature and Shakespeare theaters. In Guatemala, she helped lead the local Parent-Teacher Association and organized support for the newMaya school campus. Back in the United States again, she completed the Publishing Special- ist Program at The George Washington University. She was an editorial assistant for the “1990 Surgeon General’s Report on Smoking Cessation,” and later became editor of the Fairfax League of Women Voters Newsletter. Energetic and athletic before the onset of her MS, she enjoyed taking cruises and traveling throughout the national park system. She also enjoyed exploring local