Obituary for Donald Pennington Sr.
Donald Pennington Sr.
07/23/1933 - 12/06/2018
Donald Scott Pennington Sr, 85, passed away on December 6, 2018, surrounded by his loving family. Don was born on July 23, 1933, to the late Nathan and Evie Pennington.
Don was a graduate of Elon College with a Bachelor of Arts, and UNC Greensboro with a Master’s Degree in Education. He started his career as an elementary school teacher and principal in Mebane, NC. He spent the next 30 years of his career working for Nationwide Insurance. After merging his two loves together, he spent the final chapter of his career teaching insurance at Morton Learning Center. Don officially retired in 2014 and spent his time enjoying some of his favorite hobbies including gardening, attending yard sales, working jigsaw puzzles and eating popcorn while watching sports.
Don will be remembered for his ability to meet no stranger. He had a wonderful sense of humor and was an avid story teller. He was a member of Dublin Baptist Church for 34 years.
Don is survived by his wife of almost 64 years, Helen (Hodge) Pennington; son Scott (Katey), children Kristin and John; son Lee ; son Keith (Tarei), children Christopher and Victoria; son Ray (Jeannine), children Kyle, Joel, Megan and Melissa; daughter Rea Reynolds (Bob), children Allison, Elise and Maddie. Don is also survived by his brother Howard Pennington and sister Pat Harwood. He was preceded in death by his siblings Doris Ann, Mary Ruth, Irvin and John Pennington. While he was extremely proud of his 5 children and their spouses, the light of his life were his 11 grandchildren.
In lieu of flowers, Don’s fondest wish would be for donations to be made to the Nathan and Evie Pennington Memorial Scholarship: Elon University, 2600 Campus Box, Elon, NC, 27244.
In his final few years, Don’s favorite saying was...” I was Tarheel born, Tarheel bred, and when I die I’ll be Buckeye dead.” Go bucks.
Visitation will be held at Hill Funeral Home, 220 S. State St, Westerville OH, 43081 from 4:30-6:30 pm on Sunday, December 9th with funeral service to be held at Dublin Baptist Church, 7195 Coffman Rd, Dublin OH, 43017 on Monday, December 10th at 1 pm. Burial to follow at Blendon Central Cemetery 6330 S. Hempstead Rd, Westerville OH, 43081.