Phyllis Oakley Obituary: How Did Phyllis Oakley Die? – Cause Of Death

Phyllis Oakley, whose 25-year diplomatic career in the State Department almost didn’t happen because of an unwritten rule that forbade female foreign service officers from marrying, died on Jan. 22, 2022 at a hospital in Washington.

Phyllis Oakley was always interested in public affairs; she received material from the State Department about job opportunities when she was 12.

During World War II, Phyllis Oakley followed the battles closely, enthralled with history and geography.

At Northwestern University, Phyllis Oakley majored in political science and graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1956.

Phyllis Oakley received her master’s degree from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University in 1957 and then joined the foreign service.

Phyllis Oakley had spent the intervening years as the wife of a foreign service officer, Robert B. Oakley, carrying out the myriad social, diplomatic and managerial duties that the department expected of wives under its “two for the price of one” motto.

Phyllis Oakley also raised their two children.

Phyllis Oakley died of a heart attack at a hospital in Washington, D.C. on January 22, 2022, at the age of 87.