Prudence Ann (Brainard) Penney Obituary (1938

Our families 'Force of Nature' Prudence Ann (Brainard) Penney, 85, passed quietly October 31, 2023, in St. George, Utah. Born March 30, 1938, to Ford Brainard and Irene Lewis in Ann Arbor, Michigan, 'Prudy' is the mother of Robb Penney, Polly Barbe, Scott Penney & Peggy Armour with each child inheriting her stubborn nature, independence and zest for life. She also has 12 grandchildren and 8 great grandchildren who all adored their fun loving 'Nana-Penney'. Prudy grew up in Ypsilanti, Michigan in a tight knit family which included her grandparents, aunts, uncles, brothers and all her friends with whom she stayed in touch and her last gathering of those friends was attending the 70th Class reunion of Ypsilanti High, class of '56. Prudy was proceeded by her husband of 62 years, Gary Penney, and knowing Gary he was waiting for her with the question 'What took you so long?' Yeah, they were those people. They were always 'those people'. Wherever they went they made friends and had fun. When Gary retired, they traveled the country. Wherever they set up their motor home for a 'stay', Prudy would get out the portable 'Penney's mailbox', her seasonal plastic goose (that she would dress for the season or holiday), put up their flagpole and of course then get to know everyone staying in their campground, motor home park and local LDS church. For years her Christmas card list was a cross section of America with all the people they met and would stay in touch with... and they all knew it was from Prudy because of her distinct stylized handwritten Gothic lettering. When her youngest child was in junior high, 1982, Prudy decided it was time to pursue her ultimate goal and enroll in nursing school. It was her dream. When she received her nursing certificate, she started taking care of people and became a traveling nurse for older patients at home. She became particularly adept at taking care of older people and those in hospice care because she always treated them with respect and like they were just regular people living their lives, not sick or debilitated but with the same zest for life she had. Families would specifically request her because she made a difference in the care & life quality of their loved ones. In the care facility that she and Gary lived in she would still ask the staff how she could help and take care of the people living there. Prudy wasn't a 'like it' kind of a person; when she did something she was 'all in', whether making Christmas goodies for her family, volunteering to run the women's groups charity drive to help female prison inmates by making stuffed animals to sell for donations, making her family all dress in the same clothes for Christmas or the semiannual water fights that would start with a glass of water and end with full pans of water and garden hoses. If she didn't start it, it was likely she'd finish it! And it was a rare thing to see her without her ubiquitous glass of diet Pepsi, she should have had stock in the company. She loved to read, and she taught herself to play the piano. She loved Christmas and she loved family. She would especially make sure that all her relatives, no matter how far flung, knew they were Family, always welcome and loved... and not above letting family know when they were not being 'family' enough for each other. We will miss her infectious enthusiasm, her rambunctious nature, her water 'lust' (get her anywhere near a body of water i.e., lake, ocean, river, pool and she had to get in), her bold determination, her cut throat cribbage games (she got that from her father Ford) and her compassion... she was a 'force of nature', and we love her and miss her.