With heavy hearts, we announce the passing of Lyngrid Smith Rawlings, born in Memphis, Tennessee on May 22, 1944. She departed this life on September 9, 2024, surrounded by her loving family. Lyngrid was a remarkable woman who embodied duty, hard work, tenacity, and integrity.

She is survived by her children, Lauren, Lynette, Leon, Lisa, and Lawrence Rawlings; three siblings, Sandra, Cherryl, and Thorne Smith; and grandchildren, Ryan Krumbholz, Sabrina Rawlings, and Thorne Rawlings, who will forever cherish her memory. Lyngrid was predeceased by her parents, Hamilton and Ruth Smith, and her sisters, Valerie Smith and Charita Riggins.

The Smith family moved from Memphis to  DC,  in 1945 as part of the Great Migration, seeking to escape Southern oppression and find greater opportunities in the North.  In 1955, Lyngrid started sixth grade at John Burroughs Elementary, joining brave Black children around the country in desegregating the nation’s public schools.  That same year, she joined the Girl Scouts, a decision that profoundly shaped her life. Lyngrid attributed her confidence, love of nature, and independent spirit to her scouting experiences, especially at camp. She graduated from McKinley Technology High School in 1962 and went on to attend Howard University, where she earned a B.A. in English in 1966. (Go Bisons!)

From a young age, Lyngrid demonstrated a strong work ethic, fierce independence, and a commitment to service. As a teenager, she mowed lawns to earn extra money and volunteered as a Candy Striper at the Hospital for Sick Children. This work is an early manifestation of the woman she would become.  In the 1950s it would have been very unusual for a teenage girl to push a lawn mower around a middle class neighborhood, but she  was unfazed in her determination to contribute to her Girl Scouts dues. At the same time, she found a sense of purpose in playing board games with and reading to seriously ill and injured children.

Lyngrid began her professional career in Adult Education with DC Public Schools, working tirelessly to provide countless men and women with the opportunities and benefits of literacy and learning. She took a two and a half year hiatus from DCPS to move to the Caribbean island of St. Kitts with her family where she worked in the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Women’s Affairs.  In the 1990s, after returning to the US as a single mother of five children working full-time, she pursued her long-deferred dream of doctoral studies. In 1995, upon publication of her dissertation, Voice from the Village, Lyngrid earned a Doctor of Education from Virginia Tech.

After retiring from DC Public Schools in 1992, Lyngrid began a new chapter as a Foreign Service Officer with the U.S. Department of State. In her 50s, she learned French and embarked on diplomatic postings across Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia. What she found most gratifying about this phase of her career was rooted in the essence of who she was: she loved helping colleagues of all nationalities realize their full potential. Lyngrid made lifelong friends wherever she went, and her family is deeply grateful to those who have reached out to share how she enriched their lives. Though she retired from the State Department in 2009, she continued her global service as a retiree until 2020.

Lyngrid was a vibrant person with many passions. She loved poetry, literature, visual arts, theater, walks in the woods, travel, deep conversations, and time with her family.  Among her favorite poets were Walt Whitman, Langston Hughes, Emily Dickinson, Nikki Giovanni, and Robert Burns. She cherished trips to India and any place near water. Her favorite color was purple, and she had a taste for crab cakes, shrimp dishes, butter pecan ice cream, and, above all, her mother’s apricot brandy cake with chocolate fudge icing.

Throughout her life, Lyngrid was a passionate advocate for nature, education, democracy, and women's empowerment. These causes were central to her beliefs and actions. We will always remember her for her incredible resilience, warm heart, unique perspective, quirky sense of humor, and unwavering commitment to making her community and the world better.

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