ROBERT FULTON

 
ROBERT FULTON  
Long time McLean, VA resident and retired Central Intelligence Agency officer Robert M. Fulton passed away in the early morning hours of June 18, 2012, at Virginia Hospital Center, Arlington, VA, after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 83 years old. Born October 30, 1928, in Oxnard, CA, to Roy and Flossie Fulton, Bob was the quintessential California golden boy, handsome, athletic and outgoing. A track star in high school and college, Bob earned his Bachelor's Degree in Economics and a Master's Degree in Soviet Studies, from the University of California at Berkeley. Bob enlisted in the US Army in 1951 at the outbreak of the Korean War and was channeled into intelligence work. He was sent to the Army Language School to learn the Russian language and, after his army discharge in 1954, Bob was recruited by the Central Intelligence Agency where he worked until his retirement in 1979. Bob served in Helsinki, Finland; Copenhagen, Denmark; Vietnam (Hue and Saigon); Bangkok, Thailand; and Moscow, USSR. When he retired from government service he continued his interest in foreign affairs by starting an import/export business in the burgeoning Chinese market. Bob was in Beijing during the Tiananmen demonstrations in early June 1989, and departed Beijing just as the Chinese PLA began their crackdown on the demonstrators.Bob was preceded in death by his parents and twin siblings, Jim and Jean. He is survived by nieces Jan Miracle of Palm Desert, CA; Debi Lennox of Upland, CA; and Anne Wallgren of Boulder City, NV. He is also survived by two nephews; Dave Fulton of Port Hueneme, CA and Allan Sawyer of San Diego, CA.Bob was loyal and true to his friends and family and will be missed by all who knew him.He will be interred in Ventura, California, near his birth place.