Dr Jude Cole Pennington, 92, of Richmond, VA, passed away peacefully on September 29, 2026. He was preceded in death by his wife, Judith “Becky” Ann Sloterbeck; his parents Robert George and Emma Cole Pennington; and granddaughter Galina Pennington. He is survived by his son Scott (Anastasiia); daughter Kim Riccio (Marco); grandchildren Bradley (Corinne), Hunter, Chase (Carter), Mykonas; and great-grandchildren Adara and Emery.
He was born in Altoona, PA, the youngest of four children. A devoted son, brother, husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, “favorite” uncle, friend, teacher, coach and mentor whose legacy will live on through the countless lives he inspired.
Active in scholastics and extracurricular sports and activities at all the schools he attended ranging from being Freshman Class President to President of the Men’s Varsity Club at Lock Haven State Teachers College. His doctorate was earned at Florida State University with magna cum laude honors and where he was inducted into the Phi Kappa Phi honor society; he was very proud of his dissertation on Title IX.
In his early years he played football, track, cross country, soccer, wrestling, gymnastics, hand balancing, swimming, and diving. At Lock Haven he was known for walking to class on his hands. In his later years he enjoyed playing tennis, golf, running marathons and long-distance swimming.
He met the love of his life, Becky, a fellow teacher and coach while working in PA. They started a family and moved to Richmond in 1970 when he accepted a teaching and coaching position at VCU where he retired as a tenured professor after 26 years.
While relocating to Richmond, they happened upon a home behind Avalon Recreation Association. Sold! Jude and Becky played on competitive tennis teams and won mixed doubles tournaments there over the years. Eventually Jude went on to manage the club for over ten years.
As a father, he was the one who showed up to every match, even as far away as Florida. He and Scott were Father/Son Richmond City tennis champions for multiple years in the early 1980’s. Until the end he made sure his daughter had a reliable car and insisted on a call or text that she made it safely whenever she traveled.
Lucky are the few whose passion is also their career. He loved everything about athletics from training, playing, teaching and coaching. Most of all he valued team building and good sportsmanship. His gymnastics exhibition team performed at events all over the Richmond area, including a halftime show at a VCU basketball game. He received numerous awards, served on many professional organizations, worked on multiple accreditation teams and published in his professional field including 2 books. He never lost sight of the most important aspect which was his students.
He was friendly and known for his kindness, wit and wisdom; often dispensed in thoughtful, simple and caring terms. He treasured time with family and friends; especially if it started with one of his world famous whiskey sours and ended with ice cream (3 scoops, please).
He never met a stranger and often engaged with others over his curiosity about them and their favorite schools, sports or teams. He could often be heard asking “Was coach so and so there when you were there?”
He took his namesake, St. Jude, the saint of “hopeless causes” to heart. Always lending a compassionate, caring ear to those in need. He really came to appreciate his name once the Beatles came out with a little ditty you may have heard about called “Hey Jude”.
A visitation will be held from 5:00 - 7:00 pm on Friday, October 30, at Woody Funeral Home, 1771 N. Parham Rd, RVA. A funeral service will be held at 2:00 pm on Saturday, October 31, at St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church, 1101 Forest Ave, RVA.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105 or the American Red Cross Virginia Region, (where Jude volunteered over 1,500 hours) 2825 Emerywood Pkwy, Richmond, VA 23294
