Haiti earthquake: Memorial set for diplomat, a Whittier native, killed in quake

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A memorial service for Victoria DeLong, 57, a career diplomat who was killed Jan. 12 when her house collapsed in the magnitude 7.0 earthquake in Haiti, will be held Saturday in Whittier, her hometown.

DeLong, a 27-year veteran of the U.S. Foreign Service, served as a cultural affairs officer at the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince. Scheduled to attend the 1:30 p.m. service at Rose Hills Memorial Park are Ambassador Nancy J. Powell, director general of the Foreign Service, and Susan R. Johnson, president of the American Foreign Service Assn. in Washington.

In a Jan. 15 statement, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said DeLong ‘worked tirelessly to build bridges of understanding and respect between the people of the United States and the people of Haiti.’

Thomas Switzer, a spokesman for the association, said at least six Foreign Service nationals died and 28 others are unaccounted for.

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