The Foreign Service Journal, June 2009

In days when the “performance” of wives still received official comment, those about her were exceptional. (Her conduct did not change when the grading stopped.) Having been in- troduced to society in New York City, Mrs. Skoug was at ease at lunches or dinners with dignitaries such as Soviet Foreign Minister Gromyko and Pres- ident Carlos Andres Perez of Vene- zuela. Yet it gave her equal satisfac- tion to visit poor areas of Caracas in 1989 and 1990 and present contribu- tions to the needy as wife of the charge d’affaires, and she regretted not hav- ing done more of that. During the 1968 Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia, she opted not to be evacuated but remained at post where she assisted American citizens and others seeking relief at the embassy. Despite hardship involved in three years of service in Moscow during the Cold War (1976-1979), where she resided many miles from the embassy, she made the most of her opportuni- ties to arrange and guide embassy tours to explore Russian culture. In- deed, she regarded Moscow as the most interesting post at which she ever served. Mrs. Skoug was a trained, prize- winning artist whose watercolors and acrylics, especially those of old church- es and winter scenes in the Soviet Union, were appreciated by diplo- matic colleagues and the international business and journalistic community. She was always glad to paint a specific scene upon request of a friend. Those works of art will keep her memory green on walls around the world. She was also a gourmet cook, skilled hostess and convivial enter- tainer. Her sincerity, lively humor and warm smile always won the esteem of colleagues and associates. However, she regarded her chief responsibility as providing a serene and cheerful home, as she did for her family wher- ever in the world they might be. She is survived by her husband, Ken, of Alexandria, Va.; her daughter, Reed Stevens Skoug-Roller of Harleys- ville, Pa.; her son, Kenneth N. Skoug III of Plymouth, Mich.; and five grandchildren: Curtis, Cecilia and Evangeline Martha Roller, and Ken- neth N. Skoug IV and Meganne Skoug. J U N E 2 0 0 9 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 85 I N M E M O R Y