Penny Etson Rinehart
October 10, 1953 (Utica, New York) - September 21, 2024 (Springfield, Illinois)
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Parents: Neil and Frances Etson
Spouse: Eric Rinehart Children: Jonathan Rinehart and William Rinehart College Attended: University of Illinois majoring in psychology and social work Occupations: Probation Officer, Drug and Alcohol counselor, Interior Designer, Realtor |
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SPRINGFIELD—On September 21, 2024, Penny Etson Rinehart passed away, surrounded by her friends and family. She was a sister, a wife, and a mother, but most importantly, as she would tell you, she was Gigi to her grandbabies. She leaves behind a grieving family, including her mother Frances Etson; her brother Bill Etson and her sister Nancy Grenda; her two sons, Jonathan and William; two granddaughters, Claudette and Camille of Jonathan and Stefanie; and several nieces and nephews.
Penny was born in Utica, N.Y. on October 10, 1953 to Neil Etson and Frances Etson. She was preceded in death by her father as well as her husband of nearly 47 years, who passed only three months and two days before her.
From an early age, Penny was fiercely independent. At 16, she secured a ride to Woodstock but her father got wind of the plan to sneak out and kept watch of her all weekend. Missing out on the iconic festival was one of her greatest regrets, especially since she adored “rock and roll,” hair metal, and the latest top 40 hits. Whenever Penny bought a Jeep, and it was always a Jeep, it was always equipped with a top of the line audio package so she could push the speakers to their limits, with the windows down, singing along.
In college, Penny met Eric Rinehart, hitting it off at a dance that ended up blooming into a lifelong love affair. Penny and Eric were married in Olney, IL on August 28, 1977 and built the rest of their lives together. Through it all, they remained each other’s “Baby,” a testament to their enduring love.
After graduating from the University of Illinois with a double major in psychology and social work, Penny secured a job as a probation officer, just as violence was spiking in the United States. The way she talked about her time as a probation officer and then as a drug and alcohol counselor, one got the sense that those early jobs toughened her to the tragedies of the world, but they never dimmed her desire to help others.
For a time, Penny was an interior decorator, but it wasn’t long until she switched to selling homes and staging them instead of just decorating them. Despite the career shift, her passion for decorating never faded. Every couple of months, Penny would not just add some seasonal decor but she’d often repaint entire rooms, switch around artwork, and give her home a fresh look. For nearly thirty years, Penny was a real estate agent, and for the last ten of those, she often talked about retiring. But she never did because she got a constant stream of referrals from word of mouth alone.
You could immediately pick out Penny in a crowd because she would often be decked out in animal print, always had her hair done, maintained an immaculate French manicure, and wore a cadre of gold bangles that emitted a distinct timbre when she walked. The only time Penny wasn’t done up was when she was working outside in her “million dollar backyard” or sitting in front of her pond, listening to the waterfall and watching the birds that congregated because of her five well-maintained hummingbird feeders.
In the enduring debate over beach vacations and mountain vacations, Penny was decidedly pro-beach. She always hated traveling through the mountains, but nevertheless loved the trip from Illinois out east to see her boys. Instead, every winter she’d ship down to Florida for a couple weeks but made sure not to go to the areas where “old people” gathered.
Above all, Penny was full of love. She loved to crack a sarcastic joke and loved to laugh with her head tilted slightly to the right. She loved her family, her kids, and especially her grandbabies. Penny loved good food and wine, and would always be stocked with at least one or two of your favorite bottles. But, she never liked to choose a wine, asking instead, “why don’t you go pick one?” Penny loved making peanut butter blossom cookies but never ate them because she was allergic to peanuts, just like she loved baking banana bread but hated bananas. She made double and triple batches because she knew others would enjoy them. But you knew you were in her inner circle if she ended the conversation by saying, “love ya babe”.
All obituaries are grisly affairs, made worse by limitations. Really, how can any combination of words capture a life? No tribute can do justice in describing the fullness of Penny’s life. So, to express what cannot be fully said, Penny will be deeply missed.
The family will host a memorial gathering at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Springfield, IL from 2 P.M. until the memorial service at 3 P.M on Wednesday, September 25th. Interment will follow in the Westminster Memorial Garden.
Penny was born in Utica, N.Y. on October 10, 1953 to Neil Etson and Frances Etson. She was preceded in death by her father as well as her husband of nearly 47 years, who passed only three months and two days before her.
From an early age, Penny was fiercely independent. At 16, she secured a ride to Woodstock but her father got wind of the plan to sneak out and kept watch of her all weekend. Missing out on the iconic festival was one of her greatest regrets, especially since she adored “rock and roll,” hair metal, and the latest top 40 hits. Whenever Penny bought a Jeep, and it was always a Jeep, it was always equipped with a top of the line audio package so she could push the speakers to their limits, with the windows down, singing along.
In college, Penny met Eric Rinehart, hitting it off at a dance that ended up blooming into a lifelong love affair. Penny and Eric were married in Olney, IL on August 28, 1977 and built the rest of their lives together. Through it all, they remained each other’s “Baby,” a testament to their enduring love.
After graduating from the University of Illinois with a double major in psychology and social work, Penny secured a job as a probation officer, just as violence was spiking in the United States. The way she talked about her time as a probation officer and then as a drug and alcohol counselor, one got the sense that those early jobs toughened her to the tragedies of the world, but they never dimmed her desire to help others.
For a time, Penny was an interior decorator, but it wasn’t long until she switched to selling homes and staging them instead of just decorating them. Despite the career shift, her passion for decorating never faded. Every couple of months, Penny would not just add some seasonal decor but she’d often repaint entire rooms, switch around artwork, and give her home a fresh look. For nearly thirty years, Penny was a real estate agent, and for the last ten of those, she often talked about retiring. But she never did because she got a constant stream of referrals from word of mouth alone.
You could immediately pick out Penny in a crowd because she would often be decked out in animal print, always had her hair done, maintained an immaculate French manicure, and wore a cadre of gold bangles that emitted a distinct timbre when she walked. The only time Penny wasn’t done up was when she was working outside in her “million dollar backyard” or sitting in front of her pond, listening to the waterfall and watching the birds that congregated because of her five well-maintained hummingbird feeders.
In the enduring debate over beach vacations and mountain vacations, Penny was decidedly pro-beach. She always hated traveling through the mountains, but nevertheless loved the trip from Illinois out east to see her boys. Instead, every winter she’d ship down to Florida for a couple weeks but made sure not to go to the areas where “old people” gathered.
Above all, Penny was full of love. She loved to crack a sarcastic joke and loved to laugh with her head tilted slightly to the right. She loved her family, her kids, and especially her grandbabies. Penny loved good food and wine, and would always be stocked with at least one or two of your favorite bottles. But, she never liked to choose a wine, asking instead, “why don’t you go pick one?” Penny loved making peanut butter blossom cookies but never ate them because she was allergic to peanuts, just like she loved baking banana bread but hated bananas. She made double and triple batches because she knew others would enjoy them. But you knew you were in her inner circle if she ended the conversation by saying, “love ya babe”.
All obituaries are grisly affairs, made worse by limitations. Really, how can any combination of words capture a life? No tribute can do justice in describing the fullness of Penny’s life. So, to express what cannot be fully said, Penny will be deeply missed.
The family will host a memorial gathering at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Springfield, IL from 2 P.M. until the memorial service at 3 P.M on Wednesday, September 25th. Interment will follow in the Westminster Memorial Garden.