Jonathan E. Mudge, 55, former Santa Barbara resident, died in Alexandria, Virginia, of pharyngeal cancer after a long illness.

After graduating from UC Santa Barbara, he served on the Santa Barbara County Grand Jury in 1985, taught English in China, then obtained an MBA from Thunderbird School of Global Management.

Jonathan joined the U.S. Foreign Service in 1990. Postings included Shanghai and Beijing. He served as desk officer for Kazakhstan, worked in intelligence research, and finished his career as OECD desk officer.

He is survived by his parents, Richard and Anne Mudge, and his siblings, Margaret, Carter and Randall.