Jean Mary Wilkowski

Ambassador Jean Mary Wilkowski, diplomat, philanthropist, educator and spiritual mentor died July 27, 2016 after a lengthy illness. Born on August 28, 1919 to Ernest and Mae Wilkowski in Rhinelander, Wisconsin, Ambassador Wilkowski earned a B.A. in Journalism from Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College in Indiana. She went on to earn an MA from the University of Wisconsin and received six honorary degrees. She taught various courses at Barry College in Florida before embarking on a 35-year career in diplomacy with the U.S. Foreign Service. Ambassador Wilkowski’s first post was in Trinidad as Vice Consul before she rose through the ranks at the Department of State concentrating on trade and economics in Bogota, Milan, Paris, Santiago, Rome, and Honduras. She helped negotiate the expansion of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, which led to the creation of the World Trade Organization. She holds the distinction of being the first career female ambassador to an African nation when she was assigned to Zambia and while there, helped change U.S. policy in Southern Africa. She was a Diplomat-in-Residence at Occidental College in California. Before her retirement, she worked with Notre Dame president Father Theodore Hesburgh coordinating the U.S. preparation for the 1979 United Nations Conference on Science and Technology for Development in Vienna, which included a research visit to the Peoples’ Republic of China.



Ambassador Wilkowski devoted her retirement years to various economic development and aid projects. She served as the first woman Foreign Service officer on the board at DACOR (Diplomatic and Consular Officers, Retired) and was honored to receive the prestigious Foreign Service Cup there. She served as the Board Chair with VITA (Volunteers in Technical Assistance), a highly respected NGO that provided development and technical assistance on various projects worldwide, for twelve years. During that time, she held senior positions on the board of Corn Products/Best Foods, advising on corporate operations abroad.



Ambassador Wilkowski received the Cross of Merit, pro Merito Militensi from the Sovereign Military Order of Malta in 1971 for humanitarian service to 50,000 war refugees in Central America. She was invested in the Order in 1991 and conducted several humanitarian missions to Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, and Cuba. She was honored there for humanitarian service to Central American refugees. She was a Woodrow Wilson Foundation Fellow and a scholarly author. Her autobiography, Abroad for Her Country, chronicles her life while in the Foreign Service.



Throughout her life, Ambassador Wilkowski lived her faith daily and inspired others to do so. She served on the board and as a Trustee at both Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College and Barry University. She was on the board of EPS (Education for Parish Service) at Trinity Washington University. She established fellowship programs for faculties and students, various economic development programs around the world, and funded schools and missions in Africa and Cuba, which her family Trust continues to fund today. She was a lay member of the Bishops’ International Policy Committee. She was an international consultant to the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities, serving over 200 institutions throughout the United States.



Ambassador Wilkowski is preceded in death by her parents and her brother Lt. Col. (ret.) Ernie W. Wilkowski. Her nieces, Mary Trogg, Kathleen Handley, Stephanie Turnquist, Margaret Wade; her nephew, Frederick Wilkowski, and their extended families survive her.



Graveside services will be held at 1:00 pm on Monday, August 29, 2016 at Calvary Cemetery. Condolences to the family may be sent in care of Mary Trogg, 4172 S Biscay Circle, Aurora, CO 80013-3806.