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A patriot and dedicated diplomat, Francis Skiddy Sherry III died in his adopted home of Bangkok, Thailand, on March 31. He was nearly 87.
Mr. Sherry was born in Rouen, France, on May 7, 1927, to the late Francis Skiddy Sherry II and Paulette Dupuy. The son of a French mother and American father, he spent his childhood in France, along with extended visits to his American grandmother in New York. The travels and adventures he experienced as a young man, particularly during the German occupation of France during World War II, helped shape his world view.
He enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1946 in Marburg, Germany, as a “Continental enlistee” and was honorably discharged in 1948 as private first class. Thanks to the GI Bill, Mr. Sherry earned his bachelor’s degree in international relations from Harvard University in 1951. During the summers, he worked aboard private and commercial fishing boats sailing from Montauk, and he subsequently purchased a 42-foot boat named the Peggy Anne, aboard which he operated a charter fishing business for a brief period. He married Peggy Anne Pieper, of Boston, in April 1952, in Milton, Massachusetts, and they had five children. They divorced in 1980.
Mr. Sherry’s love of big-game fishing was put aside in 1952, when he began a distinguished 35-year career as an intelligence officer for the Central Intelligence Agency, serving in Vietnam, Belgium, Mexico, France and Thailand. He served over the course of three separate wars in Indochina, and dedicated his life and career to serving his country and becoming steeped in international relations. Among other significant commendations, he earned special recognition from the CIA and was awarded the Third Order of the White Elephant by the King of Thailand.
Following his retirement in 1987, Mr. Sherry made Bangkok his permanent home and married his second wife. He became a certified gemologist and worked in the gem business. He also continued building the collections of Asian art and antiques for which he became known.
Survivors said his journey through life was spirited and dynamic, and that his contributions to global history gave voice to democracy where it had been suppressed. Since childhood, he had been a passionate and tireless student of history, art and culture, they said. Often characterized as larger-than-life, he was a big-game fisherman, diplomat, storyteller, collector, defender of freedom, loving father and self-described lucky man, according to his family.
Mr. Sherry is survived by his second wife, Sakuntala in Bangkok, and his five children from his first marriage: Linda Anne Sherry-Cloonan of Connecticut; Francis Skiddy Sherry IV of San Francisco; Alan Edward Sherry of Kentucky; Paulette Dupuy Sherry of San Francisco; and Margaret Claire Sherry of Iowa. He is also survived by his granddaughter, Olivia Sherry Cloonan of Connecticut.
Funeral services were held on Saturday, April 12, at the Old Whaler’s Church (First Presbyterian) in Sag Harbor, followed by interment at Oakland Cemetery in Sag Harbor, where many of his ancestors also were buried.
on Apr 14, 2014