The Foreign Service Journal, November 2020

88 NOVEMBER 2020 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL She is also survived by a sister, Blanche Freeland; a brother, Steven Pearson (and his wife, Maryan); and a large extended family. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to a charity of your choice. n Mel F. McBeth , 86, a former Foreign Service officer with USAID and the State Department, died of prostate cancer on June 11 at his home in Concord, Calif. Mr. McBeth was born on Feb. 21, 1934, and grew up in Oakland, Calif. After graduating from Oakland High School in 1952, he worked for a while and then enlisted in the U.S. Army. He trained at Fort Ord, Calif., and in 1954 was assigned to Okinawa as an army ordnance specialist. There, he devel- oped a keen interest in Japan and Asia. He was discharged in 1956. On returning to San Francisco, he attended San Francisco State University under the GI Bill, majoring in Asian studies, world geography and history. In college he met Cecelia, a student who had emigrated from Japan. They mar- ried and had a daughter, Rachel. Later, the marriage ended. Mr. McBeth began a career in bank- ing in San Francisco. In 1963, he met and married Georgiana. They lived in San Francisco where their son, Erik, was born. Later, he was hired by USAID; and in 1967, he and his family moved to Seoul, where he was assigned as an invest- ment promotion adviser. A highlight of his service there was being chosen as a delegate to the 1968 Colombo Plan Conference. In 1970, while the family was still in Seoul, his second daughter, Melinda, was born. After a short-term posting in Jakarta in USAID’s supply management divi- sion, Mr. McBeth was assigned to Da Nang, Vietnam, in June 1971. It was his last overseas posting. A few months after arriving, his assignment was can- celed because the post lacked sufficient wartime security. Back in the United States, Mr. McBeth worked at the State Department as a geographer. He produced notes on geographical changes for borders, prov- inces and city names, which were sent to various government agencies. In 1975, he was let go along with other personnel in a reduction in force. He also separated from his wife and moved to the San Francisco Bay Area. In 1978, Mr. McBeth married Bar- bara. While in San Francisco, he worked for Safeco Title and Commonwealth Title until his office was closed. He took computer courses, and then went to work for a medical company in Oak- land, retiring in 2000. Friends note Mr. McBeth’s lifelong thirst for knowledge and spirit of adven- ture. He traveled to 88 countries. Mostly by road, he also traveled nationwide to every state and their capitals, as well as every county in California. He was equally passionate about genealogy, taking courses and becom- ing a certified genealogist. He planned trips visiting small villages in the United States, and in England and Ireland, vis- iting graves of his ancestors, occasion- ally contacting and meeting with distant cousins. He recorded 500 years of family history dating back to the 1500s. Mr. McBeth was also an avid walker. He walked more than 80 percent of San Francisco’s streets between 1982 and 1999, and challenged himself with multiday walks. For example, he once took the train to San Jose and walked for three days back to Concord. During Mr. and Mrs. McBeth’s retire- ment, they traveled frequently, flying to Europe, going on cruises or driving across the United States. Mr. McBeth was a member of AFSA, the Society of California Pioneers, San Francisco State University Lifetime Alumni and the Del Norte County His- torical Society. In 2010 he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, which he was treated for and then lived with comfortably for nearly a decade until his symptoms began to intensify. Mr. McBeth is survived by his blended family, including wife Bar- bara; two daughters, Rachel McBeth and Melinda Bauman (Jon); a son, Erik McBeth (Wendy); one grandson, Tyler Lopez; four granddaughters, Sarah McBeth, Amy Andrews (Rich- ard), Karina Long (Andrew) and Emily McBeth; stepdaughters Michelle Lynch (Sean), Kathleen Duryee and Jacquelyn Morris (Josh); and step-grandsons, Theo Bauman and Andrei Lynch. Memorial donations may be made to Bruns House, Hospice East Bay, a can- cer research organization of your choice or a favorite charity. n Martin (Marty) Thomas Ronan , 81, a retired Foreign Service officer with the U.S. Information Agency, died on July 30 in Washington, D.C., due to complications from Parkinson’s disease. Mr. Ronan was born in Chicago on July 27, 1939, the fourth child of Margaret and James Ronan. He attended St. Philip Neri grade school and St. Ignatius High School in Chicago and graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1961. When President John F. Kennedy started the Peace Corps in 1961, Mr. Ronan enthusiastically joined the first group. He served for two years in Chile and remained a faithful Peace Corps alumnus.