We report with a sad heart that our friend Penny LaRue Lanphier passed away on Sunday evening, May 18th, here in Portland, Oregon. She was a devoted student of the Vidyadhara, Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche since the 1970’s. Penny had been declining in recent years and months and had been on Hospice for the last few weeks. She is survived by her daughter Kristen and her 2 granddaughters.
Thank you to Clarke Warren for sending this information to the Chronicles
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Tributes
Oops, I forgot to put my name for the previous entry. And I forgot to talk about gentleness. The hallmark of any conversation with Penny was her gentleness. A softspoken gentleness.
And I feel grateful because Penny welcomed me to the Naropa life and mentored me with that gentle touch.
OK
I'm all done now.
I met Penny Lanphier in 1984 when I joined the staff of Naropa Institute. Jolie Bernstein managed low-level fundraising and Penny worked with Jim Spearly to manage fundraising for the big-money donors. Penny left after a few months, and Suzann Duquette took her job, and Jolie left and I took Jolie's job.
What struck me about Penny was simply her elegance. Penny looked ageless to me, and she had a distinctive style with the auburn hair and the glasses (cat's eye?), a silk shirt with stunning earrings, a dash of freckles across her face that showed up best when she smiled. We did meet for coffee a few times after Penny left Naropa. I seem to remember she went to work for Rigden, a local software company where rumor has it she made the big bucks.
One night stands out in my memory, the night of the 1991 Shambhala Ball. I was wearing a flouncy red silk shrift shop dress, and seething after a huge waltzing fail with my husband. I ran into Penny and met Kristen for the first time and somehow I came to life. We retired to the Marpa House kitchen for one of the best Girls Nights I ever experienced. At some point I got into a stand-up chameleon riff and every word out of my mouth made these ladies laugh. It was mainly laughing about the "let me count the ways" that men frustrate women. But they were such a good audience, such good sports. For me it was a highlight. I'm not a comic, but sometimes if the planets conspire, I can make people laugh a bit.
People drift away. I learned that too. But to reconnect with family the way Penny and Kristen did, that is a precious jewel.
In closing, Penny Lanphier is not just a clothes horse. She has her mysteries, but, in my mind, I like how Penny strides out in her snakeskin shoes and dang well lives her life.
Wow, Penny. It's been decades, but I remember her sane and cheerful presence from the early days in the D.C. sangha. Wishing her well on her journey.
I knew Penny and Kristen from the old days in Boulder. Penny was working
at a bookstore connected to Naropa Institute. It is delightful seeing Penny’s grandchildren for the first time. Penny was one smart lady and a great student of Buddhism. Cheers!
