Mrs. Penelope Babcock Laingen, 89, beloved grandmother, mother, wife, daughter, sister, aunt, friend and neighbor, died peacefully in her son's home in Marshall, Virginia, on April 3, 2021. She was preceded in death by her husband of 62 years, Bruce Laingen, and sister, Peggy Davis. She leaves three sons, William, Charles and James, daughters-in-law Mary Kay, Laura and Hope, ten grandchildren, seven great grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren; and her brother James.
Penne was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, the daughter of Frederick and Margaret Babcock. She soon moved to Chevy Chase, Maryland, and attended Bethesda Chevy Chase High School before graduating with a degree in English from George Washington University. While at GWU she was active in the Pi Beta Phi sorority. She was a case file typist for the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) under J. Edgar Hoover before marrying Bruce at All Saints Church in Chevy Chase, in 1957. She then spent the next 30 years supporting him in his Foreign Service Career. Together they served overseas in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Malta, settling in Bethesda, Maryland for their stateside assignments.
While on these foreign tours, she created and supported numerous cultural exchange programs and efforts to empower and train women. During this time she was also an outspoken advocate for pay and recognition for Foreign Service spouses as they accompany their partners overseas.
In 1979, her husband was sent unaccompanied to be the Charge d'Affairs in Iran, where in November of that year, he was taken hostage along with 51 others of his staff for 444 days. During that national crisis, Penne led the families back home in their resolute determination to bring their loved ones home. She hung a bright yellow ribbon around the large oak tree at their house in Bethesda after remembering the song "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree", made popular by Tony Orlando. The ribbon campaign was soon picked up around the country as the most popular symbol of unity and hope for the safe return of the hostages. It was so successful that the original ribbon is housed in the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress, and the concept is now a common part of numerous other causes. She also created the Family Liaison Action Group (FLAG), to better direct and organize the families' response.
Following the hostage crisis, Penne focused on writing, history, and genealogy, authoring "My Favorite Forebearers", a detailed history of her ancestors, as well as numerous newsletters, editorials, and articles, up until the time of her passing. Throughout her life she maintained her passions for music and art, playing the piano and composing many pieces for friends and family. Her artwork hangs prominently in her family's homes, was auctioned for charity in Malta, and a scene of Afghanistan was selected for the cover of the Foreign Service Journal. She remained active in Pi Beta Phi, the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), the Association of American Foreign Service Wives (AAFSW) and her high school reunion committee, among others.
Penne Laingen raised and guided a loving family in some of the most inhospitable places in the world, while socializing with and advising Ambassadors, Senators, Presidents and First Ladies. She will be remembered as setting an amazing example of love, sacrifice, courage and humility to all who were blessed to know her.
The family will hold a private graveside service by invitation only.
Penne was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, the daughter of Frederick and Margaret Babcock. She soon moved to Chevy Chase, Maryland, and attended Bethesda Chevy Chase High School before graduating with a degree in English from George Washington University. While at GWU she was active in the Pi Beta Phi sorority. She was a case file typist for the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) under J. Edgar Hoover before marrying Bruce at All Saints Church in Chevy Chase, in 1957. She then spent the next 30 years supporting him in his Foreign Service Career. Together they served overseas in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Malta, settling in Bethesda, Maryland for their stateside assignments.
While on these foreign tours, she created and supported numerous cultural exchange programs and efforts to empower and train women. During this time she was also an outspoken advocate for pay and recognition for Foreign Service spouses as they accompany their partners overseas.
In 1979, her husband was sent unaccompanied to be the Charge d'Affairs in Iran, where in November of that year, he was taken hostage along with 51 others of his staff for 444 days. During that national crisis, Penne led the families back home in their resolute determination to bring their loved ones home. She hung a bright yellow ribbon around the large oak tree at their house in Bethesda after remembering the song "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree", made popular by Tony Orlando. The ribbon campaign was soon picked up around the country as the most popular symbol of unity and hope for the safe return of the hostages. It was so successful that the original ribbon is housed in the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress, and the concept is now a common part of numerous other causes. She also created the Family Liaison Action Group (FLAG), to better direct and organize the families' response.
Following the hostage crisis, Penne focused on writing, history, and genealogy, authoring "My Favorite Forebearers", a detailed history of her ancestors, as well as numerous newsletters, editorials, and articles, up until the time of her passing. Throughout her life she maintained her passions for music and art, playing the piano and composing many pieces for friends and family. Her artwork hangs prominently in her family's homes, was auctioned for charity in Malta, and a scene of Afghanistan was selected for the cover of the Foreign Service Journal. She remained active in Pi Beta Phi, the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), the Association of American Foreign Service Wives (AAFSW) and her high school reunion committee, among others.
Penne Laingen raised and guided a loving family in some of the most inhospitable places in the world, while socializing with and advising Ambassadors, Senators, Presidents and First Ladies. She will be remembered as setting an amazing example of love, sacrifice, courage and humility to all who were blessed to know her.
The family will hold a private graveside service by invitation only.
Mrs. Penelope Babcock Laingen, 89, beloved grandmother, mother, wife, daughter, sister, aunt, friend and neighbor, died peacefully in her son's home in Marshall, Virginia, on April 3, 2021. She was preceded in death by her husband of 62 years, Bruce Laingen, and sister, Peggy Davis. She leaves three sons, William, Charles and James, daughters-in-law Mary Kay, Laura and Hope, ten grandchildren, seven great grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren; and her brother James.
Penne was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, the daughter of Frederick and Margaret Babcock. She soon moved to Chevy Chase, Maryland, and attended Bethesda Chevy Chase High School before graduating with a degree in English from George Washington University. While at GWU she was active in the Pi Beta Phi sorority. She was a case file typist for the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) under J. Edgar Hoover before marrying Bruce at All Saints Church in Chevy Chase, in 1957. She then spent the next 30 years supporting him in his Foreign Service Career. Together they served overseas in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Malta, settling in Bethesda, Maryland for their stateside assignments.
While on these foreign tours, she created and supported numerous cultural exchange programs and efforts to empower and train women. During this time she was also an outspoken advocate for pay and recognition for Foreign Service spouses as they accompany their partners overseas.
In 1979, her husband was sent unaccompanied to be the Charge d'Affairs in Iran, where in November of that year, he was taken hostage along with 51 others of his staff for 444 days. During that national crisis, Penne led the families back home in their resolute determination to bring their loved ones home. She hung a bright yellow ribbon around the large oak tree at their house in Bethesda after remembering the song "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree", made popular by Tony Orlando. The ribbon campaign was soon picked up around the country as the most popular symbol of unity and hope for the safe return of the hostages. It was so successful that the original ribbon is housed in the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress, and the concept is now a common part of numerous other causes. She also created the Family Liaison Action Group (FLAG), to better direct and organize the families' response.
Following the hostage crisis, Penne focused on writing, history, and genealogy, authoring "My Favorite Forebearers", a detailed history of her ancestors, as well as numerous newsletters, editorials, and articles, up until the time of her passing. Throughout her life she maintained her passions for music and art, playing the piano and composing many pieces for friends and family. Her artwork hangs prominently in her family's homes, was auctioned for charity in Malta, and a scene of Afghanistan was selected for the cover of the Foreign Service Journal. She remained active in Pi Beta Phi, the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), the Association of American Foreign Service Wives (AAFSW) and her high school reunion committee, among others.
Penne Laingen raised and guided a loving family in some of the most inhospitable places in the world, while socializing with and advising Ambassadors, Senators, Presidents and First Ladies. She will be remembered as setting an amazing example of love, sacrifice, courage and humility to all who were blessed to know her.
The family will hold a private graveside service by invitation only.
Penne was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, the daughter of Frederick and Margaret Babcock. She soon moved to Chevy Chase, Maryland, and attended Bethesda Chevy Chase High School before graduating with a degree in English from George Washington University. While at GWU she was active in the Pi Beta Phi sorority. She was a case file typist for the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) under J. Edgar Hoover before marrying Bruce at All Saints Church in Chevy Chase, in 1957. She then spent the next 30 years supporting him in his Foreign Service Career. Together they served overseas in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Malta, settling in Bethesda, Maryland for their stateside assignments.
While on these foreign tours, she created and supported numerous cultural exchange programs and efforts to empower and train women. During this time she was also an outspoken advocate for pay and recognition for Foreign Service spouses as they accompany their partners overseas.
In 1979, her husband was sent unaccompanied to be the Charge d'Affairs in Iran, where in November of that year, he was taken hostage along with 51 others of his staff for 444 days. During that national crisis, Penne led the families back home in their resolute determination to bring their loved ones home. She hung a bright yellow ribbon around the large oak tree at their house in Bethesda after remembering the song "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree", made popular by Tony Orlando. The ribbon campaign was soon picked up around the country as the most popular symbol of unity and hope for the safe return of the hostages. It was so successful that the original ribbon is housed in the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress, and the concept is now a common part of numerous other causes. She also created the Family Liaison Action Group (FLAG), to better direct and organize the families' response.
Following the hostage crisis, Penne focused on writing, history, and genealogy, authoring "My Favorite Forebearers", a detailed history of her ancestors, as well as numerous newsletters, editorials, and articles, up until the time of her passing. Throughout her life she maintained her passions for music and art, playing the piano and composing many pieces for friends and family. Her artwork hangs prominently in her family's homes, was auctioned for charity in Malta, and a scene of Afghanistan was selected for the cover of the Foreign Service Journal. She remained active in Pi Beta Phi, the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), the Association of American Foreign Service Wives (AAFSW) and her high school reunion committee, among others.
Penne Laingen raised and guided a loving family in some of the most inhospitable places in the world, while socializing with and advising Ambassadors, Senators, Presidents and First Ladies. She will be remembered as setting an amazing example of love, sacrifice, courage and humility to all who were blessed to know her.
The family will hold a private graveside service by invitation only.
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