WINCHESTER, Va., Feb. 1 (UPI) -- Joseph S. Farland, who aided in a diplomatic ruse setting the stage for U.S. President Richard Nixon's historic visit to China, has died at age 92.
He died Sunday at his home in Winchester, Va., of complications of a stroke, his son Richard said.
As the U.S. ambassador to Pakistan in 1971, Farland helped Henry Kissinger slip into China for 36 hours to lay the groundwork for Nixon's visit to China, the New York Times said.
With a reputation for working outside diplomatic protocols, Farland also served as ambassador to the Dominican Republic, Panama and Iran.
Joseph Simpson Farland was born on Aug. 11, 1914, in Clarksburg, W.Va. He graduated from West Virginia University in 1936 and a earned a law degree there in 1938. A year later he married Virginia Christopher, a daughter of a local coal mine owner. She died in 1978.
He is survived by two sons, two daughters, 11 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
