From the Executive Committee of the Eurasia Partnership Foundations, the Europe Foundation and the Caucasus Research Resource Centers

 

Roy Southworth, our dear friend and colleague, died on July 23rd in California from cancer. In his final days, Roy was surrounded by his wife Cathy, his three children, their spouses and all of his grandchildren. Roy’s death is a devastating blow and we miss him terribly. As soon as we have information from the family about a memorial service for Roy we will forward it.

About a dozen years ago Roy volunteered to be the founding chair of the Eurasia Partnership Foundation. The organization emerged from Eurasia Foundation’s work in the South Caucasus and is dedicated to enhancing the prosperity of the citizens of those nations and deepening mutually beneficial connections within the region and beyond. To this task Roy committed his extraordinary professional capabilities and networks from his day job at the time -- as World Bank Country Director for Georgia. Together with a superbly talented staff and dedicated trustees, Roy set the institution on a course that exceeded our greatest expectations. But most important, Roy’s enduring commitment to the people of the region, coupled with his irrepressible energy, humor and kindness, ensured the success of the initiative – now numbering five institutions including the Caucasus Research Resource Centers of Armenia and Georgia.

At our board meeting this spring, the trustees and staff of our family of institutions in the South Caucasus adopted a resolution expressing our appreciation and affection for Roy. It gives a measure of comfort to know that we were able to tell Roy how much he meant to all of us while he was still in a position to hear it.

Sincerely,
Mary Sheehan, Chair
Andrew Coxshall, Vice Chair and Treasurer
Horton Beebe-Center, President Emeritus, Eurasia Foundation