PETER SEMLER

SEMLER--Peter, 89, of New York and East Hampton died peacefully on March 2, 2021. He contracted covid-19. A graduate of the St. Paul's School and Yale, Mr. Semler was a senior career foreign service officer, and represented the U.S. government in Moscow, Bonn, Paris, Berlin, Rome and Milan. He was a lifelong analyst of world politics. He spoke fluent French, German, Italian and Russian. As a young diplomat, he watched the Cuban Missile crisis unfold from within the US embassy in Moscow. By the 1980s, he led US efforts to install Pershing cruise missiles in Italy. A specialist in cold war diplomacy, he anticipated the fall of the Berlin Wall, and told his family that the reunification of Germany would occur at a speed that would surprise everyone. Mr. Semler grew up in Manhattan, the son of George Herbert and Grace Parker Semler. G. Herbert Semler was a partner of the law firm Winthrop, Stimson, Putnam & Roberts. Peter Semler was the grandson of the composer and first dean of the Yale School of Music, Horatio Parker. He married Helen Boldyreff in February, 1957. Mrs. Helen Semler was the daughter of White Russians who had fled the Russian revolution. She became a Russian interpreter for the White House, and simultaneously translated for Presidents Nixon and Clinton. She traveled with Hillary and Bill Clinton to Russia in 1994. Helen Semler died of cancer in 2001. Throughout his life, he retained enormous curiosity about the world around him, an ardent love of music, a sensitivity to others, and a keen, mischievous sense of humor. To his family, he imparted a belief in human decency, and the importance of taking the time to understand differing points of view. He read history, biography and literature voraciously. An accomplished amateur pianist, he played the piano several hours each day (to the occasional consternation of his family). His family loved him deeply. He is survived by his daughters Tatiana Pouschine (Richard Strother), Helen Kirwan-Taylor (Charles Kirwan- Taylor) and son, Peter K. Semler. He has four grandsons, Constantin, Ivan, Rocco and Thomas. He lost a beloved daughter, Tasha, to tragic circumstances in 1973. In lieu of flowers, his family suggests a donation to Northwell Hospital, in tribute to Dr. Charles Carpati. Northwell Health Foundation, 2000 Marcus Avenue New Hyde Park, NY 11042 (In the memo section, please indicate Peter Semler) https://support.northwell.edu/donate-to-northwell-h