Ronald Schlicher
Ronald Lewis Schlicher, 63, a career diplomat who served as U.S. Ambassador to Cyprus, passed away to join his Heavenly Father on September 26, 2019, in Brentwood, Tennessee. He was beloved by his family and friends around the world.
Ambassador Schlicher was born on Sept. 16, 1956, in Sylacauga, Al., the son of Thelma Rothwell Schlicher and the late Lewis Ross Schlicher. Most of his youth was spent in Chattanooga, Tennessee where he graduated from Red Bank High School. He completed his bachelor’s and doctorate of jurisprudence degrees at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, where he graduated with highest honors and was editor of the Law Review.
He entered the Foreign Service in January 1982. He was Vice-Consul in Dhahran from September 1982 to March 1984. From 1984-1986, he served as Consul in Damascus, Syria. He then returned to Washington as Staff Assistant in the State Department’s Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs (NEA). From 1987-1989, he served as Deputy Principal Officer in Alexandria, Egypt. He then transferred to the Embassy in Cairo, where he served as First Secretary from 1989-1991, specializing in internal Egyptian politics and Islamic movements. In 1991-1992, he was Chief Civilian Observer in the Multi-National Force and Observers, the international organization that monitors the security provisions of the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty. Returning to the Department, he served from 1992-1994 as a Deputy Director for Regional Affairs in the Office of the Coordinator for Counter-Terrorism. From 1994-1997, Schlicher served as Deputy Chief of Mission in Beirut, Lebanon. From 1997-2000, Schlicher was the Director of the Office of Egyptian and North African Affairs in NEA. From 2000-2002, he served as Chief of Mission and Consul-General in Jerusalem. During the 2003 war with Iraq, Schlicher was Director of the Iraq Task Force. He then served in Iraq with the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA), first as Regional Coordinator for the North and then as Director of the Office of Provincial Outreach. From 2005-2008, Schlicher served as U.S. Ambassador to Cyprus before returning to Washington to assume the position of Principal Deputy Assistant Coordinator of Counterterrorism.
He resided in Brentwood after retiring from the U.S. State Department in 2011.
Over his career, he received the Distinguished Honor Award, three Superior Honor Awards, two Meritorious Honor Awards, a National Humint Collector Award, and the Christian A. Herter Award.
He was preceded in death by his grandparents, Clarence and Cora Schlicher, and Sidney and Alice Rothwell.
In addition to his mother, he is survived by his sister, Debbie (Arthur) Rankin, brother, Mike (Darlene) Schlicher, niece, Katie (Donovan) Grigsby, nephews, Lee (Kelly) Rankin, John (Elizabeth) Schlicher and Michael Schlicher, as well as four great-nephews and three great-nieces.
Funeral services will be held at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 5, at Red Bank United Methodist Church, 3800 Dayton Blvd., Chattanooga, Tennessee, with Reverend Ken Sauer officiating. The family will receive friends on Friday from 5-8 p.m. and Saturday from 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. at Lane Funeral Home at 601 Ashland Terrace, Chattanooga.
He will be laid to rest at the family cemetery, Cranmore Cove, in Dayton, Tn. on Cranmore Cove Road (TN-303).
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Stars of Kenya’s Theola and Cora Schlicher Foundation Centre for Orphans and Widows, established in memory of his grandmother and cousin, at 3821 S. Ridgeview Drive, Spokane Valley, WA 99206, www.starsofkenya.org (509) 714-6278.
Arrangements are entrusted to Lane Funeral Home, 601 Ashland Terrace, Chattanooga, Tn. 37415, 423 877-3524.