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Submitted: 3/24/14 • Approved: 3/25/14 • Last Updated: 3/28/14 • R990608-G0-S3
SERGEANT US Army 50 Engineer Battalion
World War II
March 17,1920 - February 6,2014
Bronze Star
*Obituary
northlittlerockfuneralhome.com
James Arthur Penney, Sr., 93, of North Little Rock, Arkansas passed away February 6, 2014. He was born on March 17, 1920, in Cato, Arkansas, the eldest son in a family of 8 children.
Mr. Penney served honorably in World War II in the 50thEngineer Battalion in the Asiatic-Pacific Theatre of Operations in the Philippines (Leyte), Korea, Okinawa and Midway. He left the Army as a Sergeant, having received the Bronze Star.
After leaving the service, Arthur and his wife, Vera, spent winters in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, where they owned a skating rink near the Fort Campbell Army base, a place that offered relaxation for the soldiers. In summers they returned to Arkansas where Mr. Penney worked in a logging business around Little Italy.
When their oldest child, Butch, reached school age, Mr. Penney built their home in the Amboy area of North Little Rock. He remained there until just a few months ago. His favorite activity was going “Honkey Tonkin” with Vera (whom he always called “the Chief”), his beloved wife of 65 years and 3 days. People would stand aside to watch them as they covered the floor with their own wonderful style of dancing.
Mr. Penney ran his own construction business for over 70 years. He gave many young men their first experience in what working to earn money really meant and he sent several of them to college without expecting any return on his investment. He had many names, but whether you called him Arthur, Uncle Penney, Sammy, Dad, Pop or Papaw, you knew him to be a kind, generous, honest and ethical man.
Mr. Penney was preceded in death by his parents, Oather Lewis and Hallie; his cherished wife, Elvira Rosa Vaccari Penney; his siblings Mildred, Oather, twins RC and JC, Jeanette and Vivian. He is survived by his son, James A. ”Butch” Penney, Jr. and his wife, Barbara, of Roland; his daughter, Phyllis A. Penney, Ed.D of Jacksonville, Florida; his grandchildren, Dr. James A. Penney, III and his wife, Wendy, of Roland and Melissa Penney Moore of Roland; and his great-grandchildren: RJ Moore, Mitchell Moore, Katherine Penney and James A. Penney, IV. He also is survived by his last remaining sibling, his sister Virginia Lee Huffman who has been his Guardian Angel for many years, as well as many much-loved nieces, nephews and cousins. We treasure the legacy that he left to all of us and will forever hold him in our hearts. “The bus is leaving…”
There will be a visitation service at North Little Rock Funeral Home Sunday evening, February 9, 2014, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Funeral Service will be held at St. Francis Catholic Church by Rev. Father Richard Davis, on Monday, February 10, 2014 at 10:30 a.m. Burial will be at St. Francis Cemetery, Hwy 300, Little Italy, Arkansas.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Wounded Warriors Project, P.O. Box 758517, Topeka, Kansas 66675. Go to www.support.woundedwarriorproject.org for donation forms.
Arrangements by North Little Rock Funeral Home. Online obituary at www.SmithFamilyCares.com.
Contributed on 3/24/14 by hawkinsdonna
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Record #: 990608