LOUIS J. NIGRO Jr.

NIGRO LOUIS JOHN NIGRO, JR. Diplomat, Ambassador Louis Nigro "Lou" of Washington, DC passed away on January 1, 2013 after a struggle with cancer. Ambassador Nigro had a distinguished career in the Foreign Service from 1980 to 2010. He served as Ambassador to Chad from 2007 to 2010. Other assignments included Diplomat in Residence at the University of Houston, Professor of International Affairs at the U.S. Army War College, Deputy Chief of Mission in Havana, Conakry and The Vatican. He also served in Haiti and earlier in Chad and The Vatican. After retirement he continued his work in the State Department for the office of Political-Military Affairs. He loved to read and to write and is the author of one book, The New Diplomacy in Italy: American Propaganda and U.S. Italian Relations, 1917 - 1919 and of numerous scholarly articles. Lou was born in Brooklyn, NY in 1947. He grew up in the Long Island town of Lynbrook and graduated from Malvern High School where he was an Eagle Scout. He graduated with a BA in History from the University of Virginia in 1969 and earned a PhD in History from Vanderbilt University in 1979. He was a Fulbright Scholar in Rome from 1973 to 1974. Prior to joining the Foreign Service he served in the California Army National Guard, was an Instructor of Modern European History at Stanford and was a Training and Operations Planner for the Department of Defense. Lou is survived by his loving wife of 19 years, Tarja of Washington; his 95 year old mother, Marie Nigro of Delray Beach, FL; his brother, Robert Nigro (Anita) of Long Island, NY and two nephews, Michael and Matthew, also of New York. A Funeral Mass will be held at the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament, Chevy Chase Circle on Tuesday, January 15 at 11 a.m. The family requests that, in lieu of flowers, friends and colleagues give a donation in Lou's name to their favorite charity.A Funeral Mass will be held at the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament, Chevy Chase Circle on Tuesday, January 15 at 11 a.m. The family requests that, in lieu of flowers, friends and colleagues give a donation in Lou's name to their favorite charity.