Daphne Shaw Stegmaier, widow of U.S. diplomat John Lloyd Stegmaier and translator of Kageo Muraoka and Kichiemon Okamura's "Folk Arts and Crafts of Japan," died at her Maryland home Nov. 21, her family said. She was 81.
Born in Kobe in 1923 as the daughter of writer, translator and U.S. government official Glenn William Shaw, Stegmaier spent her childhood and many of her adult years in Japan.
During her husband's stint in Tokyo, she was active in such organizations as the International Ladies Benevolent Society and the College Women's Association of Japan. While her husband was U.S. consul general for Kobe and Osaka, she cofounded the Kobe chapter of the International Toastmistress Club.
After her husband's retirement, the Stegmaiers focused their activities on helping the mentally disabled, leading the Well Mind Association of Greater Washington and cofounding the New Hope Foundation.