SAN DIEGO -- A former U.S. ambassador to Kuwait who frequently provided San Diegans with insight into the Middle East's conflicts has died, it was reported Saturday.

Frank E. Maestrone died Tuesday at the age of 84 of an apparent infection at University of California San Diego Thornton Hospital, according to The San Diego Union-Tribune.

Maestrone spent 10 years with the State Department's Middle East affairs section, and served as U.S. ambassador to Kuwait from 1976 to 1979.

He was also a U.S. consul in southern Iran for part of three decades in the foreign service.

"My father was proudest of the work he did to further peace between Israel and Egypt,'' his son, Mark Maestrone, told the newspaper.

Beginning with the Persian Gulf War, Maestrone became a frequent contact for area reporters looking for local experts on the Middle East. He also wrote newspaper op-ed columns.

Maestrone was president of the World Affairs Council of San Diego, and was an adjunct professor and ambassador-in-residence at what is now Alliant University in Scripps Ranch.

In addition to his son Mark, he is survived by a daughter, Anne Tompkins of Virginia, and two grandchildren.

A public viewing is scheduled for Wednesday from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the Clairemont Mortuary, 4266 Mount Abernathy Ave. A funeral Mass is set for Thursday at 9 a.m. at Mary Star of the Sea Catholic Church, 7669 Girard Ave. Internment will follow at the Fort Rosecrans National cemetary.