This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Surnames: Penner, Reisen, Tieszen Classification: Obituary Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/3FC.2ACI/2186 Message Board Post: Friday, January 10, 2003 Randy V. Penner, 81 Randy V. Penner, 81, of Freeman, S.D., an artist of national reputation, and formerly of Hudson, died Tuesday, Dec. 24, at the Freeman Community Nursing Home. Memorial services were at 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 9, at Salem Mennonite Church in rural Freeman. Private committal of the cremains was in Rose Hill Cemetery in rural Dolton prior to the services. Randolph Vernon Penner was born Feb. 27, 1921, near Hillsboro, Kansas, the son of Albert and Elizabeth (Reisen) Penner. On Dec. 29, 1946, he was married to Luella Tieszen. They first made their home in Newton, Kansas, then in Hudson from 1953 to 1999, when they moved to Freeman to be close to relatives. >From 1942 to 1945, he served in Civilian Public Service camps in La Pine, Ore., and Bowie, Md. He attended Wichita (Kansas) University and Bethel College in North Newton, Kansas, where he received a bachelor of fine arts degree. During his long and creative career as an artist, he worked as an illustrator for printing, calendar and aviation companies, including Brown & Bigelow in St. Paul. He was a commercial artist and then worked entirely in fine art, specializing in watercolors. He opened his own company, Pennerama Studio, in his home on Riverside Drive North in Hudson, overlooking Lake Mallalieu. He was a former president and active member of the Midwest Watercolor Society and American Society of Aviation Artists. His paintings hang in private and corporate collections across the nation. He also painted on location throughout North America as well as in England and Guatemala, and his work has been exhibited nationally as well as at The Phipps Center for the Arts in Hudson. His watercolors won awards and high praise in magazines, on calendars, Christmas cards for Courage Center, and in numerous showings and exhibits throughout the country. In 1996, he wrote and illustrated a book, “A Harvest of Memories,” depicting his young years on a Kansas farm, that was distributed nationally. He is survived by his wife, Luella, and other relatives. Memorials may be directed to the H.D. Penner Scholarship Fund, Bethel College, North Newton, Kansas, and the American Society of Aviation Artists. © 2003 Hudson Star-Observer - Reposted by permission http://www.hudsonstarobserver.com/main.asp?Search=1&ArticleID=88&SectionID=3&SubSectionID=54&S=1