EMBASSY MAGAZINE US Embassy mourns two employees’ deaths Colleagues remember political adviser Sam Brock as a ‘real Virginian gentleman,’ and Michael Bricker as a kind-hearted, good-humoured man. Kristen Shane Published: Wednesday, 11/07/2012 12:00 am EST The United States Embassy is mourning the deaths of two long-serving senior staff members within one week. Sam Brock was the embassy’s minister-counsellor for political affairs. He died on Oct. 24, just three days before his 61st birthday. US Ambassador David Jacobson described him as “real Virginian gentleman,” who will be remembered as a gifted musician, and devoted family man and Catholic. Michael Bricker, the embassy’s information management officer, died on Oct. 21 at the age of 54. People who knew him said they would remember him for his sense of humour, positive nature, love for his family, and the kindness he showed disabled children. Both men died of cancer, but their families aren’t disclosing more specifics, one US Embassy official said. “It’s tough when you have two people who are part of our embassy family who pass away in the same week,” said US Ambassador David Jacobson in a phone interview on Oct. 29. He worked closely with Mr. Brock, who started at the embassy in October 2010. As the head political adviser, Mr. Brock was among the embassy’s highest-ranked staff. Mr. Jacobson said he relied on Mr. Brock to explain the ins and outs of the Canadian political process through the 2011 federal election and several provincial elections. “He was somebody who always gave me sage advice,” he said. It was the kind of knowledge that came from a man who had worked at eight posts on four continents, besides Washington, since joining the State Department in 1983. He had recently been named as the ambassador to the East African state Eritrea and was awaiting confirmation from the US Senate when he died. Mr. Brock had a knack for languages. He spoke Spanish, French, and Portuguese fluently, and could also speak Italian. His keen intelligence garnered him awards from the State Department, French, and Spanish governments. On a personal level Mr. Brock was “a real Virginian gentleman, in the best sense of that word” said Mr. Jacobson. He was kind to everyone, the ambassador said. “One of the things that I remember most vividly is Sam at our embassy Christmas parties would play the piano while everyone stood around singing Christmas carols, and the joy on his face in doing that. “You would see Sam walking the halls in the summer in his blue-and-white-striped seersucker suit with a straw fedora. He was ‘old school,’ as my kids would say, but really in the very best way.” Besides the Christmas parties, Mr. Brock performed at concerts and five years ago recorded a CD of African-American spirituals with a Washington-area contralto. He also played piano and organ at mass, as he was active in the Catholic Church. But for all of his travels, he was clearly proud of his home state. Born in Radford, Virginia, he participated in a video the US Embassy in Ottawa posted on YouTube in June as part of its 50 States in 50 Days project. In the video, the white-haired Mr. Brock stands against a window, wearing a beige suit jacket and glasses, speaking directly to the camera passionately without notes about Virginia’s historical significance to the United States. He names facts and figures with ease. He leaves a wife, Odile, four daughters, and three grandchildren. He is also survived by his mother, three brothers, and a sister. Many of his immediate family members lived with him in Aylmer, Que., where his funeral was held on Oct. 27. Bricker: A champion for the disabled Mr. Bricker was back in Washington when he died, said Mr. Jacobson. He was responsible for all information and telecommunications systems not just in the US Embassy in Ottawa but also seven US consulates and other facilities in Canada. Mr. Jacobson recalls meeting with Mr. Bricker “in my most frustrating of circumstances,” when something would break or his BlackBerry wouldn’t work. “But he was always there, he was always smiling, and he was always there to help me” he said. Mr. Bricker started work in Canada in July 2011. Altogether, he served 22 years for the US State Department in places including Poland, Liberia, South Korea, and the US mission to the United Nations in New York City, his hometown. He wrote opinion pieces for the American Foreign Service Association’s Foreign Service Journal, including one piece in January 2011, after US President Barack Obama signed a directive for the federal government to employ more people with disabilities, about how the foreign service could better welcome them. Mr. Bricker was a hearing-impaired person who needed a hearing aid to better understand what others were saying. He wrote that he also read lips well, a skill that once meant he was asked to help in a hostage situation in Iraq. Lisa Ocone, whose family became close to Mr. Bricker’s through shared meals while they were both stationed in South Korea in 2005, said he never let his hearing problems stop him. Indeed, Mr. Bricker wrote: “[t]hroughout my adult life, whether I was working on Wall Street or attending university, I have succeeded by pushing myself harder than my non-disabled colleagues. If they worked 10 hours, I worked 12. I lived—and to some extent still do—by Avis Rent-A-Car’s motto: ‘We’re number two, so we try harder.’” In the places where he was posted, he tried to bring joy and love to people with disabilities who were shut out of society, especially children. While he was in Seoul, for instance, he spent hours visiting an orphanage for disabled and abandoned children. Another piece he wrote revealed his big heart for deaf kids discarded by their families and left to live in rags in the war-torn streets of Monrovia, Liberia. He was back in the United States for a training program, when he and his wife came upon a store with children’s clothes for sale for 10 cents each. “When the proprietor confirmed the offer, I said, ‘Ten cents each! Lady, close your doors, I’m buying the store,’” he wrote. He, his wife, and the store owner packed up several boxes of clothes. He shipped them to Monrovia for the disabled kids. Mr. Bricker also had a great sense of humour, said people who knew him. Every time Ms. Ocone went to his house, she said he would pull out a new gadget. One was like a crystal ball you’d lay your hand on and it would make your hair stand on end, she recalled. “He loved to see people’s expressions on their faces,” she said. “Whenever you’re around him, you feel like you’re in a good mood because he’s always cheerful.” Through her interactions with Mr. Bricker, which became more infrequent after their shared tour in Korea, she said she came to see his great love for his wife, Shereen, and 14-year-old daughter Sabrina, who is also known as Anayeth. When he talked about them, his eyes would light up, she said. A memorial service was to be held at the American Embassy on Nov. 2 for Mr. Brock. Mr. Jacobson said the embassy was also planning a ceremony to honour Mr. Bricker when his family is able to make it to Ottawa. The United States mission employs 1,200 people across Canada, including hundreds at the Ottawa embassy.