Lester Elliot Edmond

Lester E. Edmond died on June 21, 2021, peacefully at his home in Washington, D.C. He was born 99 years ago in New York City, growing up in Brooklyn until he enlisted in the army during World War II. He served as a combat infantryman with the 271st Infantry Regiment, seeing action in Luxembourg, Belgium, and Germany. Before shipping off to Europe, he met and fell in love with Shom Atkin, of Washington, D.C., and they were married two weeks after his discharge. Shom and Lester were able to celebrate their 75th wedding anniversary shortly before his death.

Upon returning to the United States, Mr. Edmond took advantage of the G.I. Bill, obtaining a Master’s from the Harvard Littauer School of Public Adminstration, and a Master’s and PhD in Economics, also from Harvard. He had received his B.A. from CCNY, before the war.

In 1950, he joined the Foreign Service, from which he retired in 1981, after having served his final four years as the United States Director to the Asian Development Bank, with the rank of Ambassador. Although he had joined the Foreign Service to get some practical experience before entering academia, he so enjoyed the work that he never considered leaving. As a foreign service officer, Mr. Edmond served in Finland, France, the Philippines, and twice in Japan. He also worked at the State Department as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for East Asian Affairs during the 1970s. After retirement, Mr. Edmond divided his time between Washington, D.C. and Owls Head, Maine.

He is survived by his wife Shom, his three children — Lee Edmond (Gabriela), Ellen Edmond (Eduard), and John Edmond (Julie); and five grandchildren — Emily, Stefanie, Rachel, Colin, and Alidar.