William (BILL) Jarrett Pennington Sr.

A second-generation Arizonan, Bill was born on March 2, 1948 to G.L. and Mary Pennington (O’Neil) and the big brother of sisters, Chris and Annette. Bill was raised in Phoenix, AZ, and loved baseball, cars and cruising Central Avenue on the weekends. He went through cars like other people went through tennis shoes. This love for cars, cruising, and occasional mischief prompted his parent’s decision to enroll him in the New Mexico Military Institute where he spent two years prior to graduating from Camelback High School (’66).

Several years (and cars) later, Bill worked for Continental Homes (’72) as a salesman and there he met Marline Jelinek, while trying to sell her a house. He “pursued” Marline and by today’s standards sounds a lot like stalking, but they fell in love, married and shared 53 wonderful years. Together they raised three sons: Nate, BJ, and Bret and had many meaningful times at the cabin and the beach. As their sons had families many other family vacations were shared with grandchildren Lucy, Will, Emma, and Andrew at Disneyland, Las Vegas, and the Beach; Bill was both master of ceremonies and one of the kids.

Throughout his life, Bill built a successful career in construction and land development. His passion for his work was matched only by his love for family, golf, classic cars, and blackjack. Bill was unshaken by the rush of the world around him. His spirit pulled others into its glow and made you know everything would be okay. Whether at work, on the fairway, piloting an airplane, or simply making us laugh, Bill would set it aside in a heartbeat to be there if you needed him.

Bill loved to cook and bake and was always trying something new, we will never forget arugula and how sparingly it can be used. He mastered his guacamole recipe in the late 80’s and baked everyone’s birthday cakes from scratch. He loved to grill steaks for our family dinners and cooked them perfectly on January 18, 2025.

Bill was known for his quick wit, generous spirit, and unwavering devotion to his family and friends. A man of integrity and humor, Bill made life more fun just being himself. He will be deeply missed but forever remembered by those who were lucky enough to know him.

Bill was preceded in death by his dad, G.L. He is survived by his mom, Mary, wife Marline (Jelinek), sisters Chris (Anderson), Annette (Zarate), children Nate, James, BJ (Jennifer), Bret, grandchildren Lucy, Will, Emma, Andrew and Jake.

Celebration of Life will be held on February 22nd (2:00 PM) at Dignity Lakeshore Mortuary at Dobson Ranch. 1815 S. Dobson Rd, Mesa, AZ 85283. All are welcome to attend.