Rebecca Bridgeman-Ferhat

Rebecca Bridgeman-Ferhat a former Peace Corps Volunteer whose long-time dream of returning to overseas service was recently fulfilled by her work as a foreign service officer with the U.S. Agency for International Development died May 3 following an automobile accident in the Republic of Kazakhstan. She was 47. Rebecca served as the deputy controller of the USAID mission for central Asia since 2003. Her work in financial management was lauded by the U.S. Ambassador who wrote to her ''You and your team have worked miracles.'' Always interested in the social aspects of development work Rebecca also took a leadership role in the USAID Working Group on Religion State and Society. In this group she drew upon her own deep Christian faith in reaching out to Islamic leaders building trust and helping them gain a new understanding of U.S. assistance. In addition to her duties Rebecca performed volunteer work at an orphanage in Almaty the capital of Kazakhstan. Rebecca the daughter of Bruce and Martha Bridgeman of Marblehead Ohio began her love of international work in high school when she traveled to Bogota Columbia as an exchange student. Following her 1979 graduation with honors from Ohio University she joined the Peace Corps as a Volunteer in Mauritania West Africa. As a PCV Rebecca established a recuperation center for malnourished and dehydrated children and assisted charitable organizations in opening a separate food distribution center. After her Peace Corps service Rebecca settled in Los Angeles where she earned MBA and MPH degrees from UCLA and met her husband Abderrahman Ferhat. She worked several years for a major California health care provider raised two daughters and devoted time to her church Hope Lutheran in Hollywood. Rebecca was noted by all who knew her for her energy her charitable works and her sense of humor. ''Rebecca became a vital force to everyone who came in contact with her said Robert Smith a close friend from her church. An enthusiastic world traveler Rebecca listed her two favorite trips as also the most spiritually rewarding. The first was a 2000 trip to the Holy Land in which she was re-baptized in the River Jordan. The second trip completed only weeks before her death was a trek across the Sinai Peninsula with her husband and a guide. Rebecca described this experience nearly alone in the desert atop Mt. Moses as filling her with a sense of ''incredible peace.'' Rebecca is survived by her loving family: her husband daughters Hadiyah and Sakinah her parents and three brothers Daniel and Thomas of Toledo Ohio and Paul of Scottsdale Arizona. The funeral service will be held on Tuesday May 11 at 11:00 a.m. at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Sharon Center OH Reverend Karl Kessler officiating. Burial will follow at Oakwood Cemetery in Cuyahoga Falls. Memorial Services for Rebecca will also be held at Hope Lutheran Church in Hollywood CA on May 16 and at the USAID Mission in Almaty Kazakhstan on May 7. The family wishes to thank Rebecca's friends and colleagues in USAID and embassy staff for their incredible support in this difficult time. Memorial contributions may be made to Eber Home for the Disabled 1601 Eber Road Holland OH 43528 or Hope Lutheran Church 8720 Melrose Ave. Hollywood CA 90038..