Linda Wengel was always the friend who could tell you how to vote.

She wasn’t a politician, but she was an active member of the Howard County League of Women Voters. She watched and participated in local school board and county council meetings. She advocated for affordable housing and equal access to education. She believed strongly in supporting local charities.

“She followed political topics incessantly,” her longtime friend Jackie Shulik said. “She was my go-to person for anything on the voting ballot that had to do with local elections or amendment questions. I always checked with her before I filled in my ballot.”

Wengel spent her early adulthood surrounded and inspired by the Civil Rights Movement, and that call to action never left her, loved ones said. It was fitting, then, that Wengel’s family requested donations to the League of Women Voters instead of flowers when she died.

Wengel, a devoted mother, grandmother and great-grandmother who left a legacy of intellectual curiosity and civic engagement, died Dec. 12 of natural causes. She was 89.

Wengel was born on Nov. 19, 1935, in Brooklyn, New York. She had an older sister, Sydelle Protas, and a twin, Susan Levine. Twins were uncommon at the time, so she and Levine had their pictures published in the local newspaper when they were born.

Her intelligence was clear in her youth, and it was no surprise when Wengel enrolled in Brooklyn College after graduating from high school. But her education did not come without hardships; during her sophomore year, her father was diagnosed with cancer and could no longer work.

Wengel’s mother sat her children down and explained that they would have to finish their schooling at night and work during the day to bring in money, Levine said.

“It was hard, but we never thought we would not do it,” her twin said. “We were strong. We did what we had to.”

Around the same time, Wengel found the love of her life, Sheldon “Shelly” Wengel. The couple married in 1956 and had three children, Steven Sakamoto-Wengel, Rob Wengel and Marni Beyer.

The family moved around a bit for work, primarily living in Maryland and Pennsylvania. When they first moved to Baltimore in the early 1960s, they joined the Baltimore Hebrew Congregation, partially because Wengel was drawn to Rabbi Morris Lieberman, who had advocated for civil rights.

Wengel held several jobs over the years, working for ad agencies, an architectural firm and Penn State University. But she wanted to build on her education and expand her career opportunities, so she went back to school at Catholic University and earned a master’s degree in library science in 1979. She spent the majority of her career with the American Bankers Association.

The Wengels settled in Columbia in 1982, Sakamoto-Wengel said. Wengel joined the Town Center Community Association and later became its chair.

“She and my father viewed Columbia as a concept, bringing together people from diverse backgrounds as a community, rather than just a place to live,” Sakamoto-Wengel said at his mother’s service.

After retirement, Wengel continued her commitment to education and personal improvement. She started taking classes at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institutes at the Johns Hopkins University, which offers academic programming for seniors, in addition to her existing community involvement.

There, she met Shulik and other women who would become some of her best friends. The first time Shulik met Wengel, she was struck by how elegant she was — tall, slender, dressed fashionably. Another friend, Pauline Cohen, said she was “always in awe of Linda because she was so smart, and I never lost that awe even when we became friends.”

The women developed a closer friendship when they decided to form the “Triple D” group, which stands for “dames who dine and donate,” Shulik said. Once a month, the members would take turns hosting a dinner and picking a charity to support. The only rules were that the charity had to be local and nondenominational.

Shulik said she depended on Wengel for her research expertise and striking vocabulary. Wengel played the New York Times crossword puzzle every day, and she enjoyed watching and listening to PBS and NPR. Her sense of humor was unmatched — always laced with a bit of irony, Shulik said.

Lynn Foehrkolb met Wengel in 2013 when she decided to become more active in the Columbia community. Wengel was chair of the Town Center board, but she was looking for someone to take the reins.

She became Foehrkolb’s mentor and “was generous with her information about the goings-on of Columbia,” her friend said. Foehrkolb took over a couple of years later but, even after Wengel left the board, she would send emails with her thoughts on various topics.

Wengel was “a fierce advocate for the community,” Foehrkolb said.

Outside of her civic involvement, Wengel was a loving mother and she took pride in her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Her family fondly remembers the ongoing Wordle chain she maintained with them.

Wengel also enjoyed classical music and art. She loved traveling, especially with her twin sister, and relished time on the beach. She owned a retirement home in Cape Cod.

She loved being by the water, Levine said. “I guess it was that open feeling when you just stare out into space there.”

The Banner publishes news stories about people who have recently died in Maryland. If your loved one has passed and you would like to inquire about an obituary, please contact obituary@thebaltimorebanner.com. If you are interested in placing a paid death notice, please contact groupsales@thebaltimorebanner.com or visit this website.