Carey Leon Penrod

10/24/1963 - 04/06/2021

On Tuesday, April 6, 2021, Dr. Carey Leon Penrod, loving husband, father, and grandfather, beloved son, brother, uncle, cousin, and friend, passed away after a two year battle with Severe Aplastic Anemia.

Carey was born to Annette and Leon Penrod on October 24, 1963 in Fullerton, California. He had a wonderful childhood, and especially loved all things outdoors. During his teenage years he spent his summers in Arizona visiting his grandparents and fishing with marshmallows, cheese, and worms on a string in the pond across the street! He also spent a few weeks for three summers with his Aunt Carol and Uncle Bob working on their farm in Idaho. Idaho held a special place in his heart. Even in his last days he was dreaming about buying property in Idaho for the ranch he’d hoped to run one day.

Carey met his wife Fawn while attending Seminary (an early morning church class) his Freshman year in high school. Over the next four years they became good friends and he helped her get a job at The Fullerton Daily News Tribune where he was working during his Senior year. They sat across from each other while handling the newspaper subscriptions and were able to talk and get to know each other well. They didn’t start dating until the day they graduated from high school and became inseparable for the two weeks before he left for BYU.

After graduating from Troy High School in 1981, Carey spent two years attending Brigham Young University before being called to serve an 18-month mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Santiago, Chile. He loved the people of Chile and enjoyed working in the mission office as the financial secretary. Two weeks after returning home from his mission, Carey proposed to his high school sweetheart, Fawn Henderson, and they were married in the Los Angeles Temple in 1984.

Carey always knew he wanted to be a dentist--he even wrote an essay in third grade about it! He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Zoology from BYU in 1985, and his DDS from UCLA in 1989. He graduated cum laude and was inducted into the Omicron Kappa Upsilon National Dental Honor Society. After living for a short time in Crescent City, CA, Fawn and Carey settled in Oakdale, CA where he practiced dentistry for 10 years. Carey was very active in the local dental societies and study clubs, and was proud to be part of the “Cosmetic Revolution” in dentistry. In 2000, the Penrods moved to Orange County and Carey opened his own practice--Penrod Dental Care--in Rancho Santa Margarita. He and his team built a thriving practice founded on the principle Carey firmly believed in—“If you treat people right the rest will follow.” He loved dentistry, practicing for 30 years before retiring in 2019 after his diagnosis.

Carey was an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints his whole life. He served in many church positions including Elder’s Quorum President three times, teaching early-morning Seminary for four years, serving as a counselor in two Bishoprics, and as the Young Men’s President twice. He most enjoyed serving in the Scouting programs, especially as Scoutmaster. Carey earned his Eagle Scout award at age thirteen--one of the first to do this in Orange County! His love of Scouting never wavered. He shared his love of the mountains and rivers with many troops over the years, and while he might have struggled with remembering names, he could tell you the name of every stream of water he ever fished and would tell anyone willing to listen! Carey loved mentoring the young men, and was able to help many achieve the rank of Eagle Scout. For 12 years he served as the Saddleback District Eagle Project Advisor. On any given day you could find a young Scout at his dental office waiting for a last-minute signature on their project. Carey was awarded the District Award of Merit from the BSA in 2011.

In addition to his love of Scouting and his passion for dentistry, Carey’s weekends and holidays were filled with quality time with his kids and grandkids. Nearly every family reunion included helping his young grandkids press the button to launch model rockets into the sky and running to catch them before they were lost in the fields. He also enjoyed building and flying radio control gliders, using his ham radio, and working on his cabin in Holy Jim canyon. Carey loved to take his kids skiing and camping, as long as there was a river or stream nearby to indulge his favorite pastime, fishing--particularly fly fishing. Anyone who knew Carey knows he never felt more alive then when he had just hooked a good fish and fought it to the net. He made sure his kids would continue the tradition by teaching them young how to tie their own knots, hook and unhook their own fish, and he even taught his young daughters how to gut and clean their fish on their own!

More than anything--even fishing--Carey loved his wife, Fawn, fiercely. He always felt she was out of his league and never quite understood how he got so lucky to be her husband. He said it was the pleasure of his life being with her and raising their family together. In reflecting these past two years on his favorite memories together, he highlighted the time they spent in Yosemite, Hawaii, Yellowstone, and their favorite place on Earth--Island Park, ID. Beyond the beautiful scenery, though, Carey and Fawn most treasured the time they got to spend with their kids and grandkids. While he knew his life was being cut short, Carey reiterated multiple times how grateful he was that they had made the time and effort to be with each of their kids so often over the years.

After Carey’s diagnosis in March of 2019 and his bone marrow transplant 5 months later, he fought long and hard for two years spending time with family and friends, mentoring colleagues in the dental field, and reaching out to those he loved. While we feel our Dad and Grandpa left this world too soon and we miss him terribly, we know we will see him again and can’t wait for that happy reunion.

Carey leaves behind Fawn, his wife of 36 years; his six children: Christi (Jim Higham), Jeremy (Sierra Robinson), Annie (Russ Walker), Erin (Dave Rackham), Emma (Nick Bradford), Corinne (David Sexton); 11 grandchildren; his parents Annette and Leon Penrod; his siblings Teri (Scott Crawford), Steve, Brent (Julie Briegel); and numerous cousins, nieces, nephews.

A Celebration of Life will be held on April 17, 2021 at 10:00 a.m. at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints located at 30522 Vía Con Dios, Rancho Santa Margarita, CA 92688. If you cannot attend but would like to watch, it will be broadcast through Zoom.

Pallbearers: Brent Penrod, Steve Penrod, Jeremy Penrod, James Higham, Russ Walker, Dave Rackham, Nick Bradford, David Sexton

Honorary Pallbearer: Leon Penrod, Scott Crawford, Cameron Crawford, Josh Miller, Derrick Crawford, Corbin Crawford, Michael Pickard, Tanner Pickard, Hunter Pickard, Brayden Pickard, Rylan Pickard, Todd Christensen