Pennington, Ronald George

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” (2 Timothy 4:7) After a courageous and lifelong fight with medical problems, Ronald George Pennington, 59, beloved father, brother, uncle, nephew, teacher, friend, and mentor, finished the race and entered into eternal rest on Wednesday, February 28, 2007. He was a valiant man who kept the faith and provided a model of inspiration, support, and love for all his family and friends.

Ron was born on May 4, 1947, in Radford, Virginia. He was the dearly-loved son of the late Edward Levi and Virginia Faulkner Pennington and the adored big brother of Terica. At age seven, he contracted polio; however, this “disability” did not slow him down or change the way he lived his life with determination, strength, and faith. He attended McGuffey Elementary School in Radford before it closed.

At Radford High School, he was a member of the National Honor Society and a representative to Boys’ State. He was a graduate of Virginia Tech and an excellent and inspiring teacher of industrial arts for 13 years in Prince William County, Virginia, before kidney disease forced his early retirement.

He was very active in the Boy Scouts, earning its three highest awards of Eagle Scout; God and County; and the Order of the Arrow, a rigorous challenge requiring outdoor survival. He was active at Camp Easter Seal and Camps Otari and Powhatan. He was a lifelong member of Grove United Methodist Church, where he was a proud member of the Agape Sunday School Class.

For several years, Ron was a weekly volunteer at Dublin Elementary School in Pulaski County. He listened to budding first grade readers, providing them support and serving as a positive male role model. In April 2003, he received the Whole Village Award presented by the Pulaski County Education Association, for his service and dedication to the children.

He leaves behind the love of his life-his daughter, Catherine Virginia “Jinnie” Pennington, and her boyfriend Andy Cochran; his sister and her family: Terica, Tommy, Laura, and Brian Fisher; his dear friend and Jinnie’s mother, Catherine Krebs; his beloved dog, Duke; and a host of relatives and friends.

Memorial services will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, March 3, 2007, at Grove United Methodist Church on Tyler Avenue in Radford with the Rev. James Bennington officiating and the eulogy presented by friend Barry Anderson. Interment will follow in Highland Memory Gardens in Dublin, Virginia. The family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m. the evening of Friday, March 2, at Mullins Funeral Home in Radford. Donations may be made to the National Kidney Foundation of the Virginias, 2601 Willard Road, Suite 103, Richmond, Va. 23294 or on-line at National Kidney Foundation of the Virginias (www.kidneyva.org) or at Mullins Funeral Home.

We also ask that if you are not an organ donor, you consider becoming one. Thirteen years ago, an anonymous donor gave Ron a kidney that miraculously lasted until his death. The family extends heartfelt thanks to the faculty and staff of Roanoke Memorial Hospital, where Ron was lovingly cared for many times up until and including the time of his death and afterward. We give special thanks to the emergency department, the 7 South PCU, and especially 7 South CCU, whose angels treated Ron as one of their own.

The Pennington family is in the care of Mullins Funeral Home in Radford. www.mullinsfuneralhome.com.