DR NADIA TONGOUR
Dr. Nadia Tongour, US diplomat, educator, life-long learner, world traveler, wonderful mother to her son, Dana (“Dan”) , and an unparalleled collector of friends, died at her home in Washington, DC on January 8, 2022. She was born in Istanbul, Turkey, on March 27, 1947. Her parents emigrated to the United States when she was a young child, and moved to Barnwell, where her father, Jack, was employed and who, for many years, was the manager of the National Fastener “Zipper” Plant. She was always an excellent student and was class valedictorian of her Barnwell High Class of 1964.
No matter where she later traveled or lived, Barnwell was always Nadia’s “hometown”. Barnwell is where she learned to speak English, became an American citizen, and most importantly as she wrote in her memoirs, assimilated into American society. Until her death, she continued to want to be informed of the news in Barnwell. She subscribed to this newspaper and was an avid reader.
Nadia was the first in her family to attend college and graduated from the College of William and Mary where her honors included induction into Phi Beta Kappa. During her time at William and Mary, she also spent a summer studying French history and language at the Sorbonne University in Paris. She received a Ford Foundation grant for graduate study at Stanford University. There she completed her M.A. and Ph.D. (1979) degrees in Russian history. Her dissertation title was “Diplomacy in Exile: Russian Emigres in Paris, 1918-1925.” The topic was of great interest to her since her own family (on both sides) were emigrants from Russia and left that country just after the Bolshevik Revolution. Her mother’s family initially settled in Paris and then later Istanbul. Her father’s family had previously evacuated from Crimea to Istanbul with the Tsarist army.
Prior to embarking on her diplomatic career, Nadia spent several years as a university professor teaching modern European and Russian History at Hamilton College in New York and at California State University College at Chico.
Nadia was appointed to be a Foreign Service Officer with the US Department of State in 1980. She served tours abroad in Mexico, Brazil, Barbados and Grenada, where she was Principal Officer of the US Embassy. She also worked on various assignments in Washington including country desk officer for the USSR, Hungary, and to the Balkan Countries. Nadia was also Editor in Chief of the Annual Human Rights Report, and Director of the Human Rights Bureau/ Office of Asia/Western Hemisphere Affairs. Nadia officially retired from the Department of State in 2007.
Upon her retirement, Nadia continued to work for the State Department on a part-time basis, assisting with the compilation of international Human Rights reports, serving as a counselor and mentor at American University, and helping students who were applying for Fulbright Scholarships.
The love of her life was her son, Dana “Dan” Michael Hunt, who was born in 1992. Nadia had an extraordinary zeal for life, and often said about herself: “I’m juggling as fast as I can!” Although her health began to fail, she disliked speaking of her own challenges. Instead, she preferred to focus on the future and her work on various projects, including writing a history of her family, which she continued to edit even on her last day. She loved world travel and despite her illness, was planning a trip to Greece later this year. She was a regular student at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute in Washington and lived by that program’s motto: “Learning is a lifelong process and curiosity never retires”.
Nadia will always be remembered for her wonderful, quick sense of humor. She was also a voracious reader, a volunteer literacy tutor, a ruthless Scrabble opponent, a theater buff, a cinephile, a collector of folk art, a member of book clubs and a wine tasting group, and a supporter of rescue animals, especially her much loved dog, Anastasia.
Her circle of friends extended across the US and to many other countries, and she loved to stay in contact with them both personally and on Facebook. One lifelong friend commented that “from her childhood in Barnwell, through her academic studies and teaching, and all around the world in her diplomatic career, she made and kept friends with astonishing durability. She grew a community wherever she lived and continued to nurture those bonds until the day she died.”
Her mother and father, with their special drive and hopefulness common to immigrants always advised Nadia that in any undertaking and in life in general, she should seek “to finish in beauty.” She leaves a loving family and many friends who can attest that she did just that.
She is survived by son, Dan, a brother, Michael who lives in Washington with his wife Lalie, and their children Jack, Alec, and Stella. She was predeceased by her parents, Jack and Stella Tongour. Nadia often recounted the importance of the Barnwell County Library in stimulating her love of reading and to her educational development. Supporting the Library was also a priority of her parents. Also, her father was a long time Library Board Member. If friends wish to memorialize Nadia’s life, please consider the Barnwell County Library.
After her cremation, she will have celebrations of her life in California, Washington, and Grenada. Internment will occur at the Church of the Holy Apostles in Barnwell, at a later date, with a reception for friends to follow. Details will be announced later in the Barnwell People Sentinel.
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