Scope and Content Note
The papers of Grace A. Rafaj (1927-2008) span the years 1928-2008, with the bulk of the material concentrated in the period 1950-1994. Most of the collection consists of correspondence from Rafaj to her family while she was a foreign service officer from 1949 to 1981. Also included are postcards, awards, memoranda, passports, photographs, clippings, digital files, and other printed matter primarily related to Rafaj’s career. The papers are in English but include some clippings in Spanish. The collection is arranged alphabetically by topic or type of material.
Rafaj’s letters are mostly typewritten with carbon copies and include handwritten notes. Correspondents include her parents, Paul and Susan Rafaj; her sisters, Ruth Rafaj Goodwin, Susan M. Rafaj, Ellen Rafaj Vrudny, and Joan Rafaj Olson; and her brother, Paul M. Rafaj. The letters have details about work, friends, colleagues, housing, food, transportation, personal trips, and general observations of people and cultures. A few of the letters include attachments such as photographs and clippings.
The correspondence, memoranda, clippings, and other printed matter from 1974 to 1975 document the wartime atmosphere in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. On April 3, 1975, Rafaj and her colleagues were evacuated, and the clippings describe how the Khmer Rouge, led by Pol Pot, captured Phnom Penh, Cambodia on April 17, 1975. For her work in helping to evacuate employees, she was given the Meritorious Honor Award in 1975.
The digital files primarily consist of images of Rafaj’s correspondence. However, not all correspondence is digitized. Also included are photographs, an outline for a possible television series, and an obituary. The images were created by Duane Olson, brother-in-law to Rafaj, in 2008 and are in .jpg format. There is also a list of Rafaj’s posts in Microsoft Word format.