Pennie P. Martin

Lexington, TN – Pennie P. Martin, age 63, passed away Tuesday, June 12, 2007, after a long battle with cancer. Visitation will be on Friday, June 15, 2007 from 4:00pm until 9:00pm. The funeral service will be held on Saturday, June 16, 2007 at 11:00am at Pafford Funeral Home in Lexington with interment to follow at Mt. Moriah Cemetery. Pennie was born August 3, 1943 in Ocilla, Georgia where she grew up with her sister, Anita. She graduated from the Women’s College of Georgia and began her career as a social worker for the Georgia Department of Family and Children’s Services. Pennie met her husband, Bill Martin, while he was teaching school in Sylvester, Georgia and they later married in 1968. Following their marriage, Bill and Pennie moved to Tennessee, where she worked for the Tennessee Welfare Department as an advocate for abused and neglected children. Bill and Pennie settled in Lexington and although her professional career began with the state, she later opened her own businesses serving as a real estate agent, travel agent and most recently as an antique dealer. If Pennie is to be remember for two things it would be the love for her family and friends, and for the fighter that she was of her illness and to tell others to never give up. She held a special place in her heart for children, and as an active member of the Jaycettes and later the Business and Professional Women’s Association, she encouraged young people to pursue their education and realize their professional aspirations. Throughout her life she visited virtually every continent, and selflessly dedicated herself to her family and friends. Pennie is preceded in death by her loving parents, S. A. and Ruby Purvis of Ocilla, Georgia. She is survived by her husband, Bill, her daughter Allison, and her sister Anita Mitcheltree and her husband Mitch of Athens, Georgia. In lieu of flowers the family asks that memorials be made in her honor and memory to The Ovarian Cancer Research Fund (www.ocrf.org) and the First United Methodist Church in Lexington. The family would also like to express their sincerest appreciation to Pennie’s doctors and nurses at the Jackson Clinic and the Jackson-Madison County General Hospital.

Pennie P. Martin

August 3, 1943 - June 12, 2007