Ralph Clough dies at 90

[Lowell_Skoog]

This notice was in the Seattle Times today. Ralph Clough was one of the original members of the Ptarmigan Climbing Club. Looking through Beckey's green guide, I noticed that Fred lists Ralph as a member of the 1938 Ptarmigan Traverse party. That's incorrect. His brother Ray was on that trip. Ray Clough lives in Bend Oregon.

 

http://www.legacy.com/WashingtonPost/DeathNotices.asp?Page=LifeStory&PersonId=92647128

 

RALPH N. CLOUGH (Age 90)

 

RALPH N. CLOUGH, retired Foreign Service Officer and author of books on Asian affairs, died of myelodysplasia at Sunrise Assisted Living center in Arlington, VA on August 10, 2007.

 

He was a resident of Arlington for 40 years. Mr. Clough was born and grew up in Seattle, Washington, where he developed his lifelong passion for the outdoors. In the late 1930's Mr. Clough became involved with mountain climbing and made many ascents (some firsts) throughout the Cascade Mountains. Mr. Clough was a lifelong birdwatcher, first with his brother, Ray Clough and more recently with his grandchildren.

 

He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Washington in 1939 and completed an M.A. in international relations at the Fletcher School of Tufts University in 1940. After joining the State Department in 1941, Mr. Clough spent 25 years in the Foreign Service with postings in mainland China, Hong Kong, Switzerland, Britain and Taiwan. He rose to Deputy Chief of Mission in Taipei, Taiwan, before returning to Washington, D.C., and rounding out his career as a member of the Policy Planning Council of the State Department, retiring in 1969.

 

His second career began with an appointment at the Brookings Institution, continued at the Woodrow Wilson Center for Scholars, and culminated with a position at the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) of Johns Hopkins in Washington, D.C.

 

During a 30-year span, Mr. Clough wrote and edited numerous books on the Far East and on American foreign policy toward Asia. Notable titles included East Asia and U.S. Security (1975), Deterrence and Defense in Korea (1976), Island China (1978), Reaching Across the Taiwan Strait (1993), and Cooperation or Conflict in the Taiwan Strait (1999). He retired from SAIS in 2003 after many years teaching the Taiwan seminar and organizing the lecture series China Forum. His first wife, Mary Lou Sander Clough, died in 1950.

 

He is survived by his wife of 54 years, Awana Stiles Clough; two sons, Frederick Clough and Marshall Clough, of Santa Barbara, California and Greeley, Colorado, respectively; two daughters, Laurie Clough Schuda of Arlington and Drusilla Clough Hufford, of McLean; six grandchildren, Gregory, Carrie, Christopher, Alexander, Stephanie, and Susannah; and numerous nieces and nephews.

 

A memorial service will be held at the Fort Myer Memorial Chapel, Arlington, VA at 3 p.m. on Thursday, August 23, 2007.