Dolores Marquiss Pannell

Dolores Marquiss Pannell – beloved wife, mother, grandmother, sister, aunt and friend –was welcomed into the arms of Jesus on Saturday, April 18th, 2026. She left to her heavenly home surrounded by family and dear friends, with some of her favorite worship music being played.

Dolores, known by her family and friends as Dee Dee, was born in New York, New York on February 22, 1940. She was the oldest of 7 children, born to Henry Ernest Marquiss and Sarah Ruth Marquiss.

After graduating high school in 1957, she attended Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland, where she graduated with a Bachelor’s of Mathematics. She then moved to Florida after accepting a position at Patrick Airforce Base. While there, she met fellow Mathematician, Frank Pannell, whom she later married in 1963. They remained joyfully married for 61 years, until Frank’s passing in 2024.

After leaving Patrick, Dee Dee went on to work at Florida Institute of Technology as the Dean of women, and professor of Algebra and Statistics. There, in 1984, she earned her Master’s in Computer Science and then became the Director of Academic Computing. For years, she was also the one announcing the name of each graduating individual at every FIT graduation ceremony. If you knew her well, you very likely heard stories of her time at FIT – she absolutely loved not only the work she did, but also the people she was able to work with over her many years there.

Dee Dee had many passions in life but at the very top of her list was her love for serving others. She truly lived to be the hands and feet of Jesus. Whether it be a donation of her time, money or her wonderful cooking, she sought out any opportunity to bless someone else. She gave so generously, and never with any expectation or want of anything in return.

Dee Dee’s life was lived in full color, with a heart for Jesus. For years, she was active in the Methodist Youth Fellowship at First United Methodist in Melbourne, Florida. She was also part of their Pairs and Spares Sunday School class where she led worship every Sunday. In 2000, she joined Calvary Chapel Viera with her family, where she served faithfully as part of the Guest Services team for as long as she was physically able. When home, she continued to keep her eyes on Jesus, and looked forward to participating in church virtually on Sunday’s and watching Better Together on TBN Christian Network. She never stopped yearning to hear more of God’s word.

Second only to her love for God, was Dee Dee’s love for her family. She spent countless hours supporting her children and grandchildren in their various sports and passions as they grew up and even into adulthood. Baseball, softball, basketball, soccer, cheerleading, football, artisan markets, volleyball, theater – you name it, she was there. What was important to you, was automatically important to her too, and she truly wanted to see you succeed at whatever it was you wanted to do in life. She also wanted you to always feel so special and celebrated on your birthday. For as long as she was able, she would bake her famous chocolate cake with caramel icing for every birthday, for every single person in the family, every year.

Her family is also so blessed to have memories of so many trips together, traveling all over the US to Georgia, the Carolinas, Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Texas and even Alaska. There was even one trip to France, which held such a special place in her heart. It really brought her so much joy to experience new things and new places with the people she loved so dearly.

Another very special love of Dee Dee’s life was her sorority, Beta Sigma Phi, which she was part of for 61 years. During that time, she had been named Sorority Sweetheart, President of the Chapter and even achieved Diamond status after passing her 60 year anniversary in 2025. She also held so many lunches for her sorority sisters at her home, and for many years, had so much joy in doing her chapter’s year book. She put so much time and effort into making sure each year’s book was special, and occasionally even enlisted the help of her family to bring her vision for that year’s book to life.

If you spent any amount of time around Dee Dee, you would surely hear of how much she loved Jesus, her love for her family, and stories of the wonderful friendships she had formed with her sorority sisters, as well as those with a special group of women she called her walkers, whom she would walk and enjoy Starbucks with every week.

Dee Dee is survived by her daughter’s Kerry Jennings [Greg Jennings] and Stacey Jett [Kelly Jett]; her grandchildren Greg Jennings Jr, Chase Jett, Brianna Jennings, Victoria Jennings Mays [Frankie Mays], and Cameron Jennings; siblings Betty Bragg, Kitzie Galbraith [Lynn Galbraith] Henry Marquiss [Willa Marquiss], John Marquiss [Jackie Marquiss], Lois Brawner [Tim Brawner], Diana Seleski [Richard Seleski], and Susie Boggs [sister-in-law]; many cousins and great grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband, Frank Pannell, sister-in-law, Jenny Gilliam, nephew, Timothy Gilliam and grandson, Clayton Townsend-Jett.

A Celebration of Dee Dee’s life will be held at 10:30am on Monday, May 4, 2026, at Serenity Venue, located at 3980 Sarno Rd Suite 103, Melbourne, FL 32934.

We welcome everyone who would like to join us in celebrating Dee Dee.

We also wish to thank all of those who have joined us in prayer these last few months. If Dee Dee was still here, her heart would be to thank every person herself.