Balidiscovery.com shares the sad news of the death of a longtime friend, Gregory Churchill, an American expat in Indonesia, at the age of 74.

Churchill died in Mayapada Hospital in Jakarta in the early hours of Saturday, February 19, 2022, after suffering for years from the chronic disease myasthenia gravis.

A memorial service attended by friends and colleagues was held on the afternoon of the same day as his death at his residence in Jalan Gelagah, Pisangan Ciputat Timur, Tangerang Selatan.

After graduation Magna Cum Laude with a degree in economics from Cornell University in 1969, he worked as a volunteer for a year with the Peace Corps in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Returning to the United States in 1972, Churchill continued his studies by obtaining a law degree (Juris Doctor) from Harvard University in 1975.

Arriving in Indonesia in 1976, Churchill, the new law graduate, began a 30-year relationship with the University of Indonesia, where he first worked as a consultant for the Legal Documentation Center until 1986, also serving as a lecturer on American law at Indonesia’s main university from 1978 to 2004.

For 26 years, from 1981 to 2007, Greg Churchill worked as legal counsel at the prestigious Indonesian law firm Ali Budiarjo, Nugroho, Reksodiputro where he provided legal advice to private companies on contracts, corporate governance, investments, mergers, acquisitions, trade, licensing and other technical matters. During this period, he provided invaluable advice on appropriate legal structures to private foundations working in cultural education, environment and advocacy programs.

From 2007 to 2016, Churchill worked as a Senior Advisor at PT Adinata Pandita advice on business development, investment and the development of foundation governance programs.

Other important consultations included assistance with International Monetary Fund (IMF), where he consulted a joint Netherlands-Indonesia program on legal and judicial reform (2008-2010). This work included bankruptcy reform, court reform and the creation of a commercial court and an anti-corruption court (1998-2005). Churchill also consulted on legal and judicial reform of the world Bank (2000-2001, 2005-2006) and the Australian Agency for International Development (2001-2003).

Gregory Churchill was held in such high esteem by his colleagues within the Indonesian legal community that he was made an honorary member of the Assosiasi Advokat Indonesia (AAI) in May 2006.

Churchill retired in 2016, devoting much of his time to following his almost countless friends from all walks of life in Indonesia and curating what was, quite possibly, the world’s largest private collection of traditional “wayang golek” puppets. “.

Churchill was a frequent visitor to the island of Bali.

Churchill is survived by Martha Bohn, a sister living in Indiana, USA, and a close friend of four decades, Dani.