John Buzbee | Veteran diplomat, 50

John Buzbee, 50, a veteran Foreign Service officer who served across the Middle East, including two stints in Iraq after the 2003 U.S. invasion, died Thursday from complications from metastatic colon cancer.

Mr. Buzbee served in Iraq during the effort to rebuild that nation after the ouster of Saddam Hussein.

He started his career as a newspaper reporter in Los Angeles and Kansas City, covering police and city hall. But a longtime fascination with the Middle East prompted him to change careers in his early 30s.

After earning a degree in Arab Studies and studying Arabic at Georgetown University, he joined the U.S. Foreign Service, working in American embassies and consulates throughout the Middle East and in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs at the State Department in Washington over the next 16 turbulent years.

Mr. Buzbee was diagnosed with metastatic colon cancer five years ago. On his personal blog, "Sunny Days and Ice Cream," he wrote, "my odds of celebrating my 50th were no better than the odds of ice cream surviving a sunny afternoon on the Potomac."

He took a medical retirement from the Foreign Service in January. A few months later, he turned 50.

Survivors include his wife, Sally Buzbee, two daughters, and his parents. - AP