Richard Camp Jewell

Longtime Fairfax City resident Richard C. Jewell died October 26, 2014, at a hospice in Aldie, Virginia. He was 90 years old. He is survived by his wife of 51 years, Rebekah; his five children, Cameron, Colin, Gillian, Andrew and Christopher; as well as ten grandchildren and two great grandchildren. He is preceded in death by his brother, Robert; his first wife, Jean; and his infant son, Charles. Richard was born in Paterson, New Jersey, on March 18, 1924, the son of Harold Batten Jewell and Ione Letitia Lentz Jewell. Richard never knew his mother, as she died when he was two years old. He spent most of his childhood in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he attended San Isidro College and St. George's College, both British boarding schools. After graduating from high school, Richard was inducted into the U.S. Army in March 1943. He trained with the 66th Infantry Division—the Black Panthers—and was eventually assigned as a radioman and assistant driver in an M-8 armored car. On December 29, 1944, Richard crossed the English Channel with the 66th Division, destined for Brittany, France. The division's mission was to contain the German forces that were trapped along the Atlantic coast and prevent them from making a break for Berlin. After the war, Richard enrolled at the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri. He made honor roll four consecutive years and graduated Phi Beta Kappa in the spring of 1949 with a degree in history. In 1950, Richard began a long, successful career as an editor at the Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS), a branch of the CIA. His career spanned 25 years and included tours of duty in England, Japan, and Cyprus. He married Jean MacRae of Thetford, England, in 1953. They had three children: Cameron, Colin, and Gillian. Jean passed away in Cyprus in 1961 at age 34. Richard met Rebekah Lin of Nanning, China, in Okinawa. They married in 1963 and had two children: Andrew and Christopher. When not overseas, Richard and his family lived in the same Cobbdale home from 1960 to the present. He retired in 1975, having risen to FBIS deputy bureau chief. He was presented the Career Intelligence Medal for outstanding performance of duty the following year. Over the many decades of his retirement, Richard doted on his children, traveled extensively, and did the Washington Post crossword puzzle faithfully. He is sorely missed by all who knew him. His ashes will be inurned at Arlington National Cemetery.