Gladys M. Penner, 91, formerly of Newton and Bentley, died Thursday (Oct. 28, 2009) at Caton Merchant House in Manassas.
She was born on April 21, 1918, in Downs to Reginald and Eunora Beam.
She was a school teacher in a one-room school near Downs before marrying Martin Penner in 1937. He passed away in 1987.
They settled outside Bentley in 1949 and built a poultry farm, from which they retired in 1978 and moved to Newton. For many years, she took water aerobics classes at the Newton Activity Center.
She loved to play games, including dominoes, Scrabble, pitch and Sequence, and she enjoyed working crossword puzzles. She was an excellent cook and baker, and had a sweet tooth. She was a Christian. She moved to Virginia in 2005, where she enjoyed the activities and people at Caton Merchant House.
She was preceded in death by her brothers, Howard, Chester and Frances Beam; and her sisters, Viola Boland and Amanda Louise Franklin.
Survivors include son, Terry Penner of Madison, Ala.; daughter, Diane Briscoe of Gainesville, Va.; grandchildren, Julie Buzbee of Topeka, Stacy Rodgers of Rockmart, Ga., Dixie Frazier of Newton, Mark Briscoe of Alexandria, Va., Scott Briscoe of Arlington, Va., and Brad Penner of Roswell, Ga.; and 10 great-grandchildren.
A burial service will take place at 1 p.m. Tuesday at Greenwood Cemetery in Newton. Services will follow at 2 p.m. Tuesday at Petersen Family Funeral Home in Newton.
Memorials may be sent to the Alzheimer’s Association.
Online condolences may be left at www.petersenfamilyfuneralhome.com.
