The Foreign Service Journal, January 2004

was raised and educated in Cleveland, Ohio. She accompanied her husband to Washington, D.C., where she stud- ied psychology at American University and in her spare time acquired superi- or secretarial skills. Mary went on to work for the War Department for nearly a decade, before returning to the private sector to wait out the year- long clearance process required to join the Department of State. In those days, State was considered the most segregated federal agency of all. Ms. Dougherty’s first posting, in 1953, was to Liberia, where she was assigned to the consular section but became secretary to the U.S. ambas- sador. There followed a series of post- ings around the world. Bill Davis, a retired Senior Foreign Service officer, observed: “For decades, she worked outside of her official duties as a volun- teer and mentor for young black offi- cers in the Foreign Service. She served in Liberia, South Vietnam, the Central African Republic, Zaire, France, Germany and Romania. She drove her Volkswagen all over Europe, crossed international borders and star- tled border guards who wondered why on earth this black American woman was traveling in that area. In Vietnam, Mary gave receptions at her home and included the Vietnamese as social guests at a time when it was unusual for Americans to be so forthcoming with the local citizenry.” In 1974, Ms. Dougherty retired from the Foreign Service. But in the life of a woman who was always com- mitted to things beyond herself, retire- ment had no place. She voluntarily escorted State-sponsored international visitors throughout the United States. Later, she came out of government retirement to work for Dr. Lorraine Williams, vice president for academic affairs at Howard University. Ms. Dougherty was a dedicated member, volunteer or official of many organizations including: The National Association of Negro Business and Professional Women’s Clubs, Phyllis Wheatley YWCA, African- AmericanWomen’s Association, Thurs- day Luncheon Group (at the U.S. Department of State), Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, AFRICARE and Trans- Africa. She was a devoted member of the Shiloh Baptist Church for more than 55 years. In 1977, as a consultant for the National Association of Negro Business and Professional Women’s Clubs, Ms. Dougherty coordinated and led a delegation of NANBPW mem- bers to Senegal, The Gambia, Sierra Leone, Cameroon and Malawi. At 85, Mary Dougherty retired from active social service but was determined to remain involved and supportive of causes which improved the quality of life for those in need until, as she stated, “I can’t go any more. When that time comes, and I can no longer move, I’ll at least hold someone’s hand.” Ms. Dougherty leaves a host of senior, mid-level and junior Foreign Service officers, ambassadors, edu- cational consultants, university pro- fessors, ministers, medical profes- sionals, and longtime friends who will honor her memory forever. James T. McMahon , 73, retired USAID official, died suddenly on Aug. 24, at a fitness center in Vero Beach, Fla. Mr. McMahon was born in Mass- achusetts. He received a B.A. from Boston College, an M.A. from The George Washington University and an M.S. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he was a Sloan Fellow. Mr. McMahon joined USAID in 1959 and served tours of duty in Taiwan, the Philippines, Vietnam and Thailand. He also had brief assignments in many other parts of the world with that agency. Under the oversight of the World Bank, he accepted tours of duty in research centers in Syria, Indonesia and the Philippines. He traveled to Oman to help start up a research station in Muscat, which was independently funded by various donors. Mr. McMahon had recently been selected to serve with USAID’s Office of Transition Initiatives, and was looking forward to more assign- ments abroad at the time of his death. Survivors include his wife Audrey, five children and several grandchil- dren. A veteran of the Korean War, Mr. McMahon was buried with mili- tary honors in Bourne National Cemetery in Massachusetts. Robert Irving Owen , 82, retired FSO, died Oct. 5 at the Navesink House in Red Bank, N.J. Born in New Jersey and raised on a farm owned by his father, Irving Lovejoy Owen, a former agriculture professor at Rutgers, Bob Owen grad- uated from Rutgers University with an engineering degree in 1941, and went on to graduate work at MIT. The Navy mobilized him out of MIT and he sub- sequently served in the South Pacific as an engineering officer. Just prior to his first assignment in the Navy, Mr. Owen married his college sweetheart, Mary Hance, in a military-style cere- mony, complete with drawn swords, at Rutgers Chapel in August 1942. At the end of the war, he decided to change J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 4 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 73 I N M E M O R Y