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John Faria Pereira

December 11, 1932 — October 28, 2024

Potomac, MD

Beloved husband and father, grandfather and great grandfather, John F. Pereira, passed away peacefully on October 28. He was 91 years old and lived in Potomac, MD.

John Faria Pereira was born in New Bedford, MA, on December 11, 1932, to John D. and Belmira N. Pereira. A gifted student and athlete, he graduated from New Bedford High as senior class president in 1950. Turning down scholarships from Yale, Brown, MIT, and other universities, he opted for Harvard College and graduated in 1954 with a BA in political science.

After 18 months as an Intelligence Specialist in the US Army, where he met his lifelong friend, Russ Jewart, John studied law at Boston University, receiving his JD in 1959. That year, he married Abigail Allen in Massachusetts, and they moved to Dallas so he could complete a Master of Comparative Law at Southern Methodist University (1960). A doctoral program in civil law at the National University of Mexico (UNAM) took them next to Mexico City (1960-61), where the first of their five children was born. He later completed a Master of Public Administration at Indiana University (1968).

Following his time in the army and inspired by President Kennedy, John realized a deep commitment to public service and enhanced his education to best serve that goal. “I wanted to give back to the country that gave me such wonderful opportunities,” he would say. He chose “the most interesting work I could imagine,” and a career path that gave him enormous satisfaction for 38 years at the CIA.

As a Latin America specialist in 1960, he dove right in on the world’s most pressing intelligence challenge at the time — the Cuban Missile Crisis. From there, he built a rich legacy at CIA, reaching the Senior Intelligence Service ranks early in his career and serving with distinction both overseas and at Headquarters. He was heavily involved in major national security matters such as Iran-Contra, the JFK assassination reviews, and multiple sensitive programs. Among other notable posts, he served as CIA’s Deputy Inspector General, the Director of the Foreign Broadcast Information Service, and Chief of CIA’s Historical Review Group. Later, he provided oversight for the National Archives Nazi War Crimes and Japanese Imperial Government Records Interagency Working Group. In the 1970s John’s family was delighted to move to London where he was accredited to the Court of St. James.

At CIA John found the constant, interesting challenges he’d hoped for, and the ideal environment for his analytical, diplomatic, and language skills to flourish for the greater good. John was awarded two Distinguished Intelligence Medals for his extensive contributions to the CIA mission. He combined honesty, integrity, fairness, and professional bravery, and drove others to excellence, with enduring impact.

People outside CIA knew John as a humble, modest man with warmth and wit, always willing to help and eager to engage. He maintained a great interest in the state of the world and donated regularly to humane causes such as the Nature Conservancy and Make a Wish Foundation. He also donated his time, as an ESL tutor for the local Literacy Council.

He was a member of the Cosmos and Harvard Clubs and once retired, in 1998, focused on sharing his expertise and expanding his formidable mind. He served on executive boards and as a consultant for global companies, providing guidance on national security. And he gave rein to his insatiable curiosity, taking on a full and widely varied course load every semester at the Johns Hopkins Osher Institute.

John was a tremendous, selective reader and traveled the world with Abigail, visiting China and Egypt, and countries in Europe and Latin America. He loved music and the theater, and any opportunity to dance with his wife and daughters—something he would do at the drop of a hat and just about anywhere, if the right song came on.

Family was John’s greatest joy and his children never tired of hearing the magical story of how he met Abigail. It was December 1955 and John, a young soldier on leave from his base in Germany, was visiting family in Lisbon. By chance, he was at the Royal Coach Museum.

"I saw a shaft of light coming through a stained-glass window and it made a glow around the most beautiful woman,” he would recount. The woman was Abigail, passing through Lisbon with her family, on her way to the US after a decade in Geneva. They married four years later and celebrated their 65th anniversary in September.

John will be profoundly mourned and forever missed by Abigail and their children, Arin, John, Michele, Jenifer, and Christine; his sister Barbara McGuigan; his children’s spouses Sherri, Todd Farrington, Gary Felsher, Dany AbiNajm, and Clay Aldrich; ten grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; a niece and four nephews.

A celebration of John’s life is planned for December.

 

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