Rose M. Ames

AMES ROSE MARIE PROULX AMES Rose Marie Ames, beloved wife of Dr. Harold H. Ames, Jr. and resident of Washington, DC since 1964, died March 30, 2011 in Suburban Hospital from multiple causes after a brief illness and shortly after the death of her husband on January 16, 2001. Born in Biwabik, Minnesota on June 7, 1927, Mrs. Ames married Dr. Ames in Pullman, Washington on May 31, 1954, having met there while attending the State College of Washington. While attending what is now Washington State University, Mrs. Ames was an active member of an international club, which deepened her fascination with other cultures that would endure for her lifetime. Mrs. Ames was a member of the Phi Beta Kappa honor society receiving her bachelors' degree in International Affairs in 1952 and, graduating with highest honors. Her involvement with foreign students at a university club led to a lifelong commitment to furthering international contact and understanding, and women's rights, especially in the developing world. Following her husband's first teaching jobs in rural Washington, they left for Italy in 1956 where they lived and taught in Bologna and Rome, beginning their lifelong love of all things Italian. In 1960, the Ames departed for Libya as teachers for USAID, and lived in Tripoli where they taught English to employees of the Libyan Government. Following their tour in Libya, they returned to the US, settling in Washington, DC in 1964. In 1966, at Princeton University, they taught the first group of Libya-bound Peace Corps volunteers. The friendships with many of those early volunteers lasted their lifetimes, and in her final years, months and days she had the comfort of letters and the presence of some of those idealistic ambassadors of American goodwill. From 1965 to 1975 Mrs. Ames worked for the National Social Welfare Assembly and then the International Exchange Program of Meridian House where she worked until her retirement in 1993. In the course of her work with international visitors as with her work abroad, Mrs. Ames developed many deep and lasting friendships around the world, and at home. Mrs. Ames lost her beloved Harold on January 16, 2011, She is survived by daughter Thoa Kim Pham of Laramie, Wyoming; sister Lucille Proulx Mattis of Richland, Washington; nephew Gerald L. Mattis of Vancouver, Washington; nephew Marine General James N. Mattis of US Central Command; nephew Thomas W. Mattis and his wife Theresa of Walla Walla, Washington; grand-nephew Peter Mattis of Arlington, Virginia, and his wife, Mai; and, grand-nephew Nathan Mattis of Sacramento, California. Like her husband, Mrs. Ames is also survived by a circle of friends in the DC area, throughout the country and world whose lives have been touched by her generous spirit; among them the many students and other young people, immigrants and international visitors, who visited and lived with Rose Marie and Harold over nearly 5 decades. A graveside service was held Thursday, April 7 at George Washington Cemetery in Adelphi, Maryland, where she was laid to rest with her beloved husband. In lieu of flowers or other gifts, the family requests that donations be made to the Harold and Rose Marie Ames Scholarship to Promote International Communication and Understanding at the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana. Gifts may be made to: The Harold and Rose Marie Ames Scholarship-UIF, 501 East Daniel Street, Champaign, IL 61821 or online at www.lis.uiuc.edu.