About Lena Landegger

Mrs. Lena Landegger (H’87), the mother of George F. (F’58) and Carl (C’53) and grandmother of many Hoyas, was recognized by the University in 1987 with an honorary degree. In part the citation read: “At the age of 17, Lena met and later married Karl F. Landegger, a young bank clerk who through hard work and good luck became a successful and highly respected figure in the Austrian pulp and paper industry. Lena was again among the financially fortunate, and in addition she was happy to be the heart of a family that had grown to four with the birth of two sons. World War II and their flight from Austria to America then brought another complete change in fortune.

Upon the death of her husband, Lena was suddenly thrown into the family business at a time of crisis. With her wise counsel, she led her two sons to rebuild the enterprise. It is typical of her approach to life that she has also continued secretly to help her twelve grandchildren in innumerable ways unknown to their parents. Lena Landegger is a woman who has lived the type of life about which novels are written. It is a life full of joy and grief, of participation in great successes and being subject to great reverses. Through it all her inner strength and outer peace have enabled her to achieve the primary goal around which her whole life has been built. In this day and age, when women are struggling to reconcile conflicting goals of family life with motherhood and career demands, Lena Landegger stands out as a shining example of a woman who chose to lead from the background, and through her love and inspiration achieved success through and with her husband and children.”