A Life Lived: A smile and caring heart marked Pennye Cable’s life

Published 12:37 pm Tuesday, January 17, 2023

To those who knew Pennye Cable, her life was marked with a smile and laughter — always.

Pennye up until illness took most of her joy away, even when she was in the nursing home, enjoyed activities and shared laughs with the nursiing staff.

Pennye died Jan. 9 at the age of 75 at Ivy Hall Nursing Home, where she had been a resident for over three years.

A cousin wrote on the funeral home’s tribute page: “Pennye was the most jovial person one could ever meet, very caring and sharing, always looking on the bright side of life.”

It wasn’t that Pennye didn’t have trials and tribulations in life. She had her share of heartache and shed a lot of tears along the way. She had lost both parents, a husband, a child, and her only sister to death.

Her daughter-in-law, Crystal, shared that Pennye made the best of each situation. “Pennye’s husband was the love of her life as was her son, Marty, and granddaughter, Callie. She was all about family and friends.”

Pennye was a Carter County school bus driver for 16 years and enjoyed the kids who rode her bus in the Hampton area. She knew most of the kids that rode her bus by name as well as their families.

Her son, Marty, said his mother always dressed up on Halloween when driving the bus.

Crystal described Pennye as a very caring person, who took care of her father until he passed. “She was married over 30 years to Elwood Cable. Elwood lost a leg in Vietnam. Pennye was always very supportive of him. They did so many things together. They enjoyed going to Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg, Dollywood, and before it was Dollywood, Sliver Dollar City.

Her son, Marty, said, “When I was growing up, they enjoyed driving around on the backroads and sight-seeing.” He added that they went to Hawaii on their 20th wedding anniversary.

Marty said his mother was a simple person, but very smart. “She didn’t like cooking or cleaning house, but she would do it for others. She and my dad spent a lot of time with his brothers and sisters. Mom was very family oriented.

“She liked to shop and enjoyed collecting ‘strawberry’ items. She had strawberry dishes and numerous knick-knacks — all strawberry. Mom also enjoyed eating strawberry pie. One of her favorites was Shoney’s Strawberry Pie,” Marty said with a chuckle.

Marty shared that one distinctive thing he remembered about his mother and daddy was their desire to help the down and out. “They enjoyed lending a hand to those down on their luck. They would ‘adopt’ people to do things for on a regular basis. That impressed me,” he said. Marty also noted that from time to time his mother would do some caregiving, especially for older people.

Pennye was a member of the Disabled American Veterans Auxiliary Chapter 17. She got involved in that because of her father, who was a World War II veteran. “She also went to a few reunions of the 2/27 Wolfhounds 68-69, the unit my dad served with in Vietnam. I have been to a few,” Marty shared.

“Mom was full of fun and a joy to be around. She loved her critters — cats, dogs, squirrels, whatever. If they had four legs, she fed them,” Marty shared.

“My Mom and Dad were special people. They enjoyed the simple things of life, but most of all they loved people, especially family. I feel so privileged and honored to have had them as parents. They taught me so much about love and respect for others,” said Marty.

Pennye and I went to Hampton High School together, and she had that contagious laugh back then. I also would see her often when I visited the nursing home. Again, she had that big smile on her face. She couldn’t help it. Laughter was her trademark. She found joy and a lot of it in just her everyday life. God touched her life in a special way.