Sherry Barndollar Rock of Falls Church, Virginia passed away peacefully on January 26, 2020 following a brave battle with cancer. Sherry, who was an active member of the Associates of the American Foreign Service Worldwide (AAFSW) since 2004, was born on March 6, 1953 in Dover, NH, to Frank and Rita (Kelley) Barndollar. Raised in Keene, NH, she moved to Washington, DC in 1975 where she pursued a career in nonprofit management. 

In 1985, while serving as Executive Director of the Landscape Architecture Foundation, Sherry married Anthony “Bud” Rock and proudly accompanied him in his foreign service career spanning three decades including assignments in Tel Aviv, Brussels, and Paris. During this time, she was a dedicated volunteer and advocate for the needs of foreign service families. Returning to Washington, DC, Sherry spent eleven years on the staff of DACOR, an organization of foreign affairs professionals, including nearly five years serving as DACOR Executive Director. Following her retirement from DACOR, she pursued her passions for quilting, travel, and extensive volunteer activities. She served on the board of the Apple Hill Center for Chamber Music, as president of the Arlington Rotary Educational Foundation, as Scholarships Chair for the Associates of the American Foreign Service Worldwide (AAFSW), and as a continuous advocate for the foreign service. 

Sherry was the AAFSW Scholarship Chair over the last few years (2015 to 2019) and due to her invaluable contributions, in the spring of 2017 during the annual AAFSW Volunteer Appreciation Lunch, Sherry received the AAFSW Outstanding Volunteer Award. Further, in November of 2019 during the annual AAFSW Awards Ceremony, Sherry also received the AAFSW Lesley Dorman Award. In 2019, due to the expansion of the AAFSW Scholarships’ program, the AAFSW Board of Directors amended the AAFSW Bylaws to include the AAFSW Scholarship Chair as a voting member of the AAFSW Board.

Despite her busy schedule, Sherry found time, as well, to remain especially close to her lifelong friends, including annual visits to her childhood Camp Takodah in Richmond, New Hampshire. Sherry is survived by her husband, Anthony “Bud” Rock of Falls Church, VA; her daughter and son-in-law Katie Rock Forster and Luke Forster of Baltimore, MD; her son David Rock of Washington, DC; a sister Linda Barndollar of Keene, NH, a brother and sister-in-law Steve Barndollar and Lynne Juster of Harpswell, ME; a sister-in-law Sherry and Jay Breaux; and her nieces and nephews Hadley Barndollar, Justine Barndollar, Jean-Marc Breaux, Nikki Trunnell, and Adrienne Breaux. She is predeceased by her parents and her sister, Heidi Jo Barndollar. 

AAFSW