Lavinia B Penniman

On March 24, 2024, Lavinia Bratton Penniman beloved wife of the late Charles Douglas Penniman, Jr.; dear mother of Virginia P. Grauel (Donald), Jennifer P. Sweigart (William) and the late Leslie P. Hodges; dear grandmother of Sara Ismart, Alexandra Stokes, Caroline Zeichner, Hannah and Andrew Grauel, Wm. Scott Sweigart and Emily Dumont, J. Bradford and Thomas J. “TJ” Sweigart, cherished great-grandmother of six great-grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations in her name may be made to American Cancer Society at www.cancer.org or Juvenile Diabetes Research Fund at www.jdrf.org.

Lavinia Bratton Penniman (Vinni) Musician, Piano teacher

Vinni Bratton Penniman, classical musician, piano teacher, and poet died on Sunday, March 24th, 2024, who would have been celebrating her 94th birthday on Thursday, April 4th.

Born Lavinia McCune Bratton in New London, Connecticut (1930); she was raised in Lebanon, PA. She was a graduate of Lebanon High School in 1948 and graduated from The Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University in 1951 with a Teacher’s Certificate in piano. She taught piano classes in the Baltimore County school system and taught private piano and piano pedagogy in a piano studio in her home for many years. Many of her students went on to careers in music.

Vinni was a member of the Peabody Alumni Association and served as president for two years. She also served on the Alumni Council for The Johns Hopkins Alumni Association representing Peabody.

During the seventies, Vinni worked as a volunteer for the Baltimore Symphony Associates and chaired the Young Soloists competitions. She enjoyed being instrumental in furthering young pianist's careers. Vinni and her friend, the late Nancy Davenport, wrote and directed the “Follies” for Stoneleigh Elementary School and Towson High School. She also enjoyed directing handbell choirs.

She married the love of her life, C. Douglas Penniman, in 1954 and they created a beautiful family having three daughters: Leslie, Virginia, and Jennifer. They enjoyed traveling the world, hosting dinner parties, and raising their family in Stoneleigh.

In 1996 Vinni, her husband, and two other couples formed the Chesapeake Chapter of AMC Cancer Research. She served as president for two years. She had a passion for writing and poetry and was a published author by 1994.

In 2002 Vinni started a bereavement ministry in her church for people who have suffered a loss. Mrs. Penniman was a communicant of St. Stevens Episcopal Church.

Vinni was a grandmother to Sara, Ali, Caroline, Hannah, Scotty, Andrew, Emily, Brad, and TJ, and a great grandmother to Emma, Tommy, Mika, Tallon, Bellamy, and Brody. She loved teaching her grandchildren how to play the piano, reading poetry together, and taking them to their favorite restaurants. They always looked forward to their annual Christmas party at The Hopkins Club