Patricia Anne Morton (May 30, 1935 – October 16, 2019) was an American

Foreign Service Specialist Foreign Service Specialists are direct-hire career employees of the United States Department of State and other foreign affairs agencies. They are members of the United States Foreign Service who provide important technical, support or administrati ...

. She was the first woman to serve as a

Diplomatic Security The Bureau of Diplomatic Security, commonly known as Diplomatic Security (DS), is the security branch of the United States Department of State. It conducts international investigations, threat analysis, cyber security, counterterrorism, and p ...

special agent. She also served as the deputy director and manager of the Federal Women's Program.

Biography

Patricia ("Patti") Anne Morton was born in

Centralia, Washington Centralia () is a city in Lewis County, Washington, United States. It is located along Interstate 5 near the midpoint between Seattle and Portland, Oregon. The city had a population of 18,183 at the 2020 census. Centralia is twinned with Cheh ...

, May 30, 1935. Her parents were Russell and Clara (Haase) Morton. She graduated from Napavine High School in

Napavine, Washington Napavine is a city in Lewis County, Washington, Lewis County, Washington (state), Washington, United States. The population was 1,766 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History Napavine was officially incorporated as a town on Novemb ...

, in 1952. She earned a bachelor's degree from

Western Washington University Western Washington University (WWU or Western) is a public university in Bellingham, Washington. The northernmost university in the contiguous United States, WWU was founded in 1893 as the state-funded New Whatcom Normal School, succeeding a pri ...

in 1957. For three years, she worked as a secretary for

Albert Rosellini Albert Dean Rosellini (January 21, 1910 – October 10, 2011) was an American politician who served as the List of governors of Washington, 15th governor of Washington from 1957 to 1965 and was both the first Italian Americans, Italian-Americ ...

, former

governor of Washington The governor of Washington is the head of government of Washington and commander-in-chief of the state's military forces.WA Const. art. III, § 2. The officeholder has a duty to enforce state laws,WA Const. art. III, § 5. the power to either a ...

. In 1965, she was accepted into the

United States Foreign Service The United States Foreign Service is the primary personnel system used by the diplomatic service of the United States federal government, under the aegis of the United States Department of State. It consists of over 13,000 professionals carryi ...

. Her assignments included Nepal,

Kinshasa Kinshasa (; ; ln, Kinsásá), formerly Léopoldville ( nl, Leopoldstad), is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Once a site of fishing and trading villages situated along the Congo River, Kinshasa is now one o ...

, Cameroon, Singapore, and

Saigon , population_density_km2 = 4,292 , population_density_metro_km2 = 697.2 , population_demonym = Saigonese , blank_name = GRP (Nominal) , blank_info = 2019 , blank1_name = – Total , blank1_ ...

. In 1972, she became the first woman to serve as a Diplomatic Security special agent. Later, she became the deputy director and manager of the Federal Women's Program. Morton died in Washington, D.C., on October 16, 2019. Her blue clutch bag, used to carry her

.357 Magnum The .357 Smith & Wesson Magnum, .357 S&W Magnum, .357 Magnum, or 9×33mmR as it is known in unofficial metric designation, is a smokeless powder cartridge with a bullet diameter. It was created by Elmer Keith, Phillip B. Sharpe, and Douglas B. ...

pistol A pistol is a handgun, more specifically one with the chamber integral to its gun barrel, though in common usage the two terms are often used interchangeably. The English word was introduced in , when early handguns were produced in Europe, an ...

during her assignment at the Washington field office, was donated to the

National Museum of American Diplomacy The National Museum of American Diplomacy (NMAD) is the first museum in the United States dedicated to telling the stories of American diplomacy. Its mission is to inspire discovery of how American diplomacy shapes the nation's prosperity and ...

References

1935 births 2019 deaths People from Centralia, Washington Bureau of Diplomatic Security United States Foreign Service personnel Western Washington University alumni {{US-gov-bio-stub