Wendy was born on 15 March, 1934 in north London, the daughter of Stanley and Florence Hoar. It was about that time that Stanley encountered the Oxford Group, and both parents became part of the local team, which included the Rev. Cecil and Amy Pugh. In1946, Stanley accepted an appointment as Loan Director of the newly formed World Bank, and the family, which included Wendy’s two younger brothers, John and Robin, moved to Washington DC.
A significant moment in Wendy’s life occurred in 1950, when she spent several weeks at the MRA conference centre on Mackinac Island; when she rejoined the family, she was bubbling with enthusiasm over the new experience. After completing her secondary schooling, Wendy went on to college at Bryn Mawr, in Pennsylvania, leaving after two years to take a secretarial course in anticipation of the family’s return to England in 1955. Back in London, she joined an accounting firm as secretary to the senior partner, whom she introduced to the work of MRA.
In time she felt called to leave the job and to put her outstanding secretarial skills at the disposal of MRA, working abroad and in the London centre. In 1965, Wendy married Geoffrey Pugh, the son of Cecil and Amy, whose work with MRA had brought him in frequent contact with the family. It was like marrying the girl next door, he said.
Their work with MRA/IofC took them to India, Australia, America and then for a long spell at Tirley Garth, in Cheshire, before they retired to a bungalow in East Sussex. Last year they moved to an annex of their daughter Ann’s house, where Wendy received loving care in the short weeks of her final illness.
