Hugh Semple Pettis

Hugh Semple Pettis, Jr. of Staunton, VA, formerly of Silver Spring, MD, a communications specialist who retired from the Central Intelligence Agency in 1977 and was subsequently associated with the University of Maryland as an academic editor and writing tutor, passed away on Wednesday, June 11, 2025 at Royal Care at Birch Ridge in Staunton. He was 97 years old.
Mr. Pettis was born in Wheaton, IL in 1927 and grew up in Michigan and Texas where he graduated from High School in 1945. Before joining the CIA in 1949, he had been a reporter for the Galveston Daily News in Texas (1943-1945) and a forest fire warden in North Idaho (1946-49). He attended the University of Chicago before transferring to the University of Idaho from which he graduated in 1953. Hugh received a Master of Arts in Public Administration in 1970 from the University of Oklahoma. He was a member of Delta Chi Fraternity and Pi Gamma Mu Social Sciences Honor Society. 
An active amateur radio operator while at the University of Idaho, Hugh was recruited by the CIA in 1949 as a communications specialist in which and other capacities he went on to serve many years abroad in Iran, Afghanistan, Greece and Great Britain. He holds the CIA's Intelligence Medal of Merit and Career Intelligence Medal among other awards and citations.
On May 19, 1951, Hugh wed Colleen (Bourne) Pettis in Meshed, Iran where he was stationed at the American Consulate and she was serving as a medical missionary. Together, they had two sons and shared 74 years of marriage. Hugh and Colleen passed on the same day, just hours apart. 
After retirement from the CIA in 1977, Mr. Pettis served as a volunteer aide at the National Museum of American History and Smithsonian Libraries (1978-1986) in various capacities: amateur radio operator, editorial consultant, copy editor, historical researcher and writer. On moving to Harrisonburg, VA in 2003, prior to his moving to Staunton VA in 2006, he was associated with Eastern Mennonite University as an adjunct instructor in English Composition and an academic writing mentor for international graduate students.
An active amateur radio operator here and abroad, he was a founder of the Bible Fellowship Net, an affiliation of Christian radio operators interested in daily Bible studies and seminar-style discussion (now in its 55th year). An Episcopalian layman and vestryman, he was a strong proponent for Reformation influences in Christian worship and was a popular Bible teacher and homilist for other Protestant churches.
Hugh was a member of the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), the CIA Retiree Association (CIRA), and the Retired Federal Communicators organization (REFCOM).
Mr. Pettis was preceded in death by a son, Hugh Forrest Pettis. 
Surviving, is his son, Mark Semple Pettis of San Francisco, CA.
Burial will be private in Rock Creek Cemetery in Washington, D.C. 
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to the charity of one’s choice.
Coffman Funeral Home and Crematory, 230 Frontier Drive in Staunton is in charge of his arrangements.
Condolences may be expressed to the family online at www.coffmanfuneralhome.net