Bob Penn, 71, passed away peacefully on June 3, 2019, in Greeley, Colorado from complications of Parkinson’s Disease. He was born on September 20, 1947 in Blue Island, Illinois to Robert H and Virginia Krueger Penn. He grew up and attended school in neighboring Riverdale. Along with his parents and sister, his childhood was filled with neighborhood friends, his Methodist church, and an extended family of aunts, uncles, and cousins. Bob loved sports, playing Little League baseball and local recreational league basketball in his youth. A fan of the Chicago Cubs and Bears from childhood, he added the Rockies, Broncos, and Nuggets after his move to Colorado.
Bob was a proud graduate of Illinois Wesleyan University – go Titans! – where he majored in Math. He met his college sweetheart and the mother of his children, Carole Porter, in Bloomington. They later divorced. After college, Bob taught junior high math (and coached basketball) for ten years in the Crete/Monee school district outside of Chicago. He then sought work with and was hired by IBM. Having fallen in love with Colorado during a vacation, his dream of moving there was realized when he was offered a transfer to the Boulder facility, where he worked until his retirement. During his retirement, Bob enjoyed spending time with his grandchildren, volunteering as a math tutor at the Longmont Adult Education Center and serving as a leader at the Longmont chapter of the Parkinson’s Association of the Rockies.
Bob met Gail when they both worked at the IBM Boulder Support Center. They became each other’s lovers, best friends, and partners in crime. Both brought two children to the union, which kept things interesting, to put it mildly, and eventually produced eight grandchildren and a great-granddaughter.
Bob was a loving and devoted husband, father, brother, stepfather, and grandfather. All of us are grateful for the love and care he provided. He will be in our hearts forever.
Left to mourn Bob are his loving wife, Gail; his daughters, Lisa Penn Fannin (Gary) and Jamie Penn; his sister, Laurel Penn; his stepchildren, Joanna McMurray and Brent Buckendorf; his grandchildren, Kylie Fannin, Emery Fannin, Zakaria Allen, Raef Aldrich, Cassie McMurray, Makayla Buckendorf, Hannah Buckendorf and Colton Buckendorf; and his great-granddaughter Luna Allen.
A memorial service will be held on Friday, June 7th at 10:00am at Howe Mortuary in Longmont, Colorado. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Parkinson’s Association of the Rockies or the Michael J. Fox Foundation at PO Box 5014, Hagerstown, MD 21741-5014,
SHARE OBITUARY
v.1.8.18