The Foreign Service Journal, December 2016

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | DECEMBER 2016 65 AFSA NEWS The late Louis C. Hebert served his country through- out his life. A Foreign Service officer for 35 years, he also served in the U.S. military. When Mr. Hebert passed away at age 89 in Novem- ber 2014, he designated the AFSA Scholarship Fund as a residual beneficiary in his will. The final disbursement of his $879,900 gift was received in October. The funds will be used for merit awards and financial aid scholarships for Foreign Service children of AFSAmembers, in memory of Louis and his wife, Valeria. Born in 1925 in Abbeville, Louisiana, Mr. Hebert joined the Army infantry in 1943 as a private. Only 18 years old at the time, he served until 1946. He was a proud recipi- ent of the Purple Heart Award for his service during World War II. In 1947, he enlisted in the Naval Reserves, while also attending Louisiana State University, where he majored in English and minored in French. He earned a bach- elor’s degree in 1952, and in July of that year re-enlisted in the Army and served as a lieutenant during the Korean War. Following military service, Mr. Hebert concluded that serving his country was his calling, and he joined the For- eign Service in 1955. Because he already spoke French, the State Department assigned him to Paris. He met his wife, AFSA Receives Six-Figure Planned Gift Valeria (née Kovach), at a State Department reception and they married in 1968. They began their life together traveling for Mr. Hebert’s assignments. Mr. Hebert, known for his humor, was the chef in the family, and the couple loved to entertain. During his career, they served in Russia, China, United Arab Emirates, France, Spain, Germany, Italy, Czechoslovakia, Ethiopia, Egypt and Washington D.C. Valeria Hebert was also hired by the Department of State, where she worked for 20 years before retiring. The couple never had children. Mrs. Hebert’s brother and a close friend serve as the AFSA Scholarship Program’s contacts. In September 1990, Mr. Hebert retired. When Mrs. Hebert died in 2004, he decided to return to his home state of Louisiana. There he took up gardening and filled in as a substitute professor at Louisiana State University, sharing stories with students and giving firsthand background on foreign affairs issues from his own experiences. He also continued to correspond with colleagues and friends he met at his posts around the world. Louis Hebert is buried in Arlington Cemetery. AFSA appreciates all scholarship donations, whether large or small. This generosity has made the AFSA Scholarship Program what it is today, and we thank our individual and organiza- tional donors. In the last 25 years alone, AFSA has been able to assist nearly 2,300 FS students with college aid totaling $4.5 million. Since the program’s establishment in 1926, more than 3,500 children have received in excess of $5 mil- lion in awards. As of November 2016, the AFSA Scholarship Fund’s endowment stood at $8 million. With careful man- agement of these funds, AFSA will be able to continue to offer competitive merit awards and financial aid scholarships in perpetuity. This membership benefit is one that we look forward to providing for many future generations of Foreign Ser- vice children. For more information on applying for a 2017 AFSA scholarship, visit www.afsa.org/scholar. n COURTESYOFTHEHEBERTESTATE Louis and Valeria Hebert.