It is with great sadness that WEBO announces the passing of Grace Penny. Grace and her husband Frank were co-owners of WEBO radio for most of the 1960’s, 70’s and 80’s. Grace was a champion of the radio station, and especially the community. Her and Frank were long time active members of the Owego Kiwanis Club and had much to do with the annual Kiwanis Radio Day fundraiser, which continues today. They operated the radio station out of a house on McMaster Street in the village with a tower site behind the old Elm Street Middle School. Grace held many positions at the radio station, but chief among them was hosting many radio shows including the “Coffee Club”. Grace was battling breast and 2 types of lung cancer in Florida on Monday when she passed at the age of 82. She is survived by her husband Frank, and daughter Verna. Funeral arrangements are pending.
Obituary:
Penny, Grace Ernestine, 82, of Land O Lakes, Florida passed away September 17, 2018. She was born in Hartford, Connecticut and moved to Land O Lakes, Florida from Gales Ferry, Connecticut in 1999, but had raised her family in Owego, New York for over 30 years. Grace was a member of the Order of The Eastern Star for 64 years and was a long time member of The United States Power Squadrons (a safe boating organization). She attended Denison University in Ohio where she earned a Bachelor’s degree in theatre. Over the years, Grace was very involved in community theatre, was musically inclined, plus she was a fine artist. She began playing piano at the age of four and played various other instruments. It is no wonder that her past times included storytelling, tatting, other needle work and fine art projects. Her passions for the arts lead to her ground level involvement with the art show at The Tioga County, N.Y. Fair in the 1970’s. Grace had a radio talk show in the 1970’s, and she was part owner of radio stations in four Upstate N.Y. communities. Grace was an educator at heart. She attended the State University of N.Y. at Binghamton where she earned a Master’s Degree in Education in 1979. She was a dedicated special education teacher for twenty years. Ever the teacher, she taught adult art courses in Binghamton as well as water aerobics in Land O Lakes. Grace sailed extensively with her husband and family on their sailboat in the Great Lakes region. She loved traveling with her husband; they enjoyed dozens of cruises together as well as ventured to numerous places nationally and internationally. Grace was truly a creative soul who connected easily with others. She “never met a stranger” and will be missed by many. She is preceded in death by her son, Lance G. Penny. She is survived by her husband of 57 years, Frank E. Penny; daughter Verna L. Penny of Brandon Florida; brother Ernest O. Hunt, Jr. and his wife, Becky of Ledyard Connecticut; Sister, Katherine Harvey and her husband Leroy of Gales Ferry, Connecticut; granddaughter, Carla P. Penny of Brandon, Florida; and many other loving family members. A Celebration of Life is to be planned at a later date.
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