Heaven gained a lively soul when Charlene "Penny" Kennedy passed away on August 24, 2023, at Great Plains Health. She was 86 years old.
Penny, the daughter of Randall and Vera Guy, was born April 3, 1937, in Denver. She was the oldest of five children and raised in Colorado. Because of her parents' divorce, she attended many schools. By 1950, she was living in Ogallala and attended grades 7-10. She didn't graduate at the time but did make many friends. By the time Penny was 15 she was living on her own and supporting herself; she lied about her age to get jobs working at a drive-in and Goodall Electric.
Penny became a wife at the age of 17 when she married Tom Kennedy of Sutherland in September of 1954. She was soon a young mother with three children: Susan, Montee and Karen. After divorcing in 1970, Penny realized good paying jobs required a high school diploma so she went back to school to earn her GED, but was later irritated that nobody ever asked to see it.
Penny was a hardworking woman who provided for her family anyway she could. She worked in the Sutherland Hospital kitchen, for Dr. Maxwell at Sutherland, at Metalcraft, Crawford Electric and tended bar for Rags Brouillette at night. In 1977, Penny started working at the Cavalier Motel, then Super 8. This led to being a motel manager for the next 17 years at Gering, Alliance, Crawford and Sidney.
Penny returned to Sutherland in 1994 to be closer to her children and later became the Director of the Sutherland Senior Center. Of all the jobs Penny had, this was the most rewarding of all! Her final job was Activities Director at Autumn Park when she moved to North Platte. Penny worked until retiring just a few years ago.
All in all Penny had a good life. She raised 3 fine children, has grandchildren who love her, got to travel to Germany, Hawaii and Canada and all Western states, learned to bowl, golf and even took cosmetology classes. And after 27 years of being divorced, Penny was able to have dinners with Tom and his wife, Barb, who she liked and got along with really well.
Penny was small in stature but large in personality and compassion. She loved being around people and dreamed of winning the lottery so she could build a nursing home where each resident had their own room with window boxes full of flowers and space for a separate chapel and activity room that wasn't a dining room. She especially loved her family and for their sake gave up smoking "cold turkey". Penny enlightened the lives of all around her and will be greatly missed.
She was preceded in death by her parents; siblings, Charlotte Hinkle, Janice Guy and Jim Amerine; brother-in-law, Richard Grady; and great-granddaughter, Gracie White.
Penny is survived by her children, Susan Fisher (Bill) of Maxwell, Karen Kennedy (Ruth Larkin) of Lakewood, CO, and Montee Kennedy (Sandy) of North Platte; grandchildren, Carlee Cochran (Ted Simmons), Jennifer Welton and Spencer, Kadyn and Kristyn Kennedy-Larkin; great-grandchildren, William, Cheyenne and Gavin White and Wylee Simmons; her brother, George Guy (Terry); half siblings, Mike Amerine (Jamie) and Mickie Sanchez (Mike); sisters-in-law, Lou Guy and Carolyn Grady; and many other family members.
Celebration of Life will be held at 1 p.m. on Thursday, September 14, 2023, at Odean Colonial Chapel with Pastor Mark Baldwin officiating. Inurnment will follow at Riverview Cemetery in Sutherland. In lieu of flowers, memorials are to the Goodfellow Shoe Fund or Riverview Cemetery. The memorial book may be signed at odeanchapel.com or at Odean Colonial Chapel at C & Sycamore which is in charge of arrangements.