Mary Elizabeth Pennock

Pennock Mary Elizabeth (Penny), passed away in Brighton, CO. December 2, 2001 at the age of 86. Penny was born in St. Anthony Park. She was a graduate of the University of Minnesota and member of Delta Gamma sorority. After college she served as a Campfire Girls executive director in Phoenix, AZ, Atlanta and Buffalo before returning to the University to earn a degree in social work. She did her field work with the Wilder Child Guidance Center. She moved to Colorado in 1954 as an Executive Director of Social Work in the Denver schools. She taught elementary school in Brighton from 1958 to 1973. Penny established libraries in the elementary school system in Brighton and trained 40 volunteers to work with her along with teaching kindergarten and second grade. She and Mary Samuelson her close friend and companion purchased the Ladies Toggery in 1973. She served on the advisory committee at Brighton Community Hospital, was chairman of the Teen Renaissance Committee at Brighton High School, she was an elder at the First Presbyterian Church and helped a Vietnamese family resettle as part of the Great Expectations Program. As a retail merchant she was active in the Chamber of Commerce, was president of the Retail Council, and served on the Downtown Development Authority. She was selected as Brighton's Citizen of the Year in 1982. Penny also served on the Board at the Brighton Care Center, helped establish the Brighton Hospice, delivered Meals on Wheels and was actively involved in the creation of Brighton Habitat for Humanity. In 1985 along with her brother and sister in law she established the Pennock Chair for Diabetes Research at the University of Minnesota Medical School. She is predeceased by her parents Edward MacMaster Pennock and Lois Tennant Pennock, and her brother, George Tennant Pennock. She is survived by sister-in-law Jevne Pennock of Minneapolis and David and Diane Pennock of Minnetonka, George and Richele Pennock of Denver, Andrew Pennock of Chicago, Jevne Lindeman of Chicago, and her close friend Mary Samuelson of Brighton. Services were held in Brighton, CO. Memorials may be made to the First Presbyterian Church of Brighton, CO or the Charity of Choice.

Published on December 16, 2001