Obituaries of Penix family, 1942-1991, Craighead Co., AR ************************************************************************* Submitted by: Jimmy Woods Date: 16 Aug 2001 Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm ************************************************************************ Jonesboro Sun, Jonesboro, AR, November 18, 1973, page 8B Broadway ******** Mrs. Della Penix Broadway, 97, Jonesboro, Route 2, died Friday afternoon at 4:50 in St. Bernard's Hospital. A native of Jonesboro, she lived in the Jonesboro and Philadelphia area her lifetime. She was a housewife and a member of Philadelphia Baptist Church. Surviving are two sons, Eagle and Ralph Broadway, both of Jonesboro; four grandchildren and four great grandchildren. Funeral services will be Sunday afternoon at 2 in Philadelphia Baptist Church With Rev. R.D. Harrington officiating. Burial in Philadelphia Cemetery with Gregg of Jonesboro in charge. Active pallbearers will be John R. Broadway, W. Scott Broadway, Michael R. Broadway, James Edwin Broadway, John Mark Broadway and Kenneth Wade Broadway. Honorary pallbearers will be members of the Jim Neal Sunday School Class of Philadelphia Baptist Church. Jonesboro Daily Tribune, Jonesboro, AR, Tuesday, June 6, 1916 J.M. PENIX, AGED CITIZEN PASSES AWAY AT ST. BERNARDS ********** At 10:30 o'clock last night at St. Bernards Hospital, J.M. Penix, one of the oldest and best known citizens of Craighead county, passed to his reward. The deceased underwent an operation for a bladder trouble yesterday afternoon, and on account of his age, and the seriousness of the trouble, he died. Mr. Penix would have been eighty years old had he lived until next commencing at 7:30, on account of head County since a small boy, and has lived continuously in the same place fifty years, three miles north of the city. He is survived by his wife and six children, four sons, Tom, Neely, Sam and Scott, and two daughters, Mrs. Sam Horton and Mrs.Walter Broadaway. He was a member of the Philadelphia Baptist Church, being a charter member of the organization, there being left now only one more such members. He was a splendid man and one of the most universally beloved men that ever resided in Criaghead county. The funeral will be conducted tomorrow afternoon at the Philadelphia church by his pastor, Rev. Prewett. Jonesboro Evening Sun, Jonesboro, AR, Saturday, October 17, 1942 RITES HELD FOR W.R. PENIX, SR. ***************************** Funeral Services This Morning At 10 o'clock At First Methodist Funeral services for William R. Penix, Sr., 81, retired merchant and well-known figure in Craighead County, were conducted by the Rev. Dr. A. W. Martin at 10 o'clock this morning at the First Methodist Church. Interment was in Oaklawn Cemetery in charge of Gregg Funeral Home. Mr. Penix, a native of Craighead County, died at 2:45 o'clock Friday morning at St. Bernard's Hospital, following a stoke of paralysis Sunday morning at his home at 500 Jefferson Avenue which rendered him unconscious unti his death. Mr. Penix lived in Craighead all his life and was a well known land owner and merchant. He was a self-made man, attaining his business success against great odds in his early life. Poverty-stricken when his father's estate was lost to the children at the close of the Civil War, Mr. Penix pulled himself up by his bootstraps and came to own extensive propety holdings in real estate and bank stocks. Mr. Penix conducted a merchantile business in Jonesboro more than half a century ago and then moved to Bono for two years, where he was engaged in a similar business. He leaves many friends and admirers throughout this vicinity. He is survived by four sons, Roy Penix, Fred Penix, and John Penix, all of Jonesboro, and Nathan Penix of Stuttgart; two daughters, Miss Ellie Penix, of Jonesboro, and Mrs. Harold Norris, of Ada, Okla; and several grandchildren. Jonesboro Sun, Jonesboro, AR, Tuesday, January 3, 1978 Roy Penix, 1891-1978 ******************** When Roy Penix was elected mayor in 1947, Jonesboro was at a crossroads in its progress. The city streets maintenance was horse and mule drawn; traffic congestion was becoming acute; there was no traffic lights; there was no citywide sanitation service; the need for downtown parking meters was apparent, and the city was strapped for funds. Mayor Penix tackled the problems vigorously, and soon he got results. The maintenance equipment was motorized. Traffic lights were installed, and a sanitation service was established. Parking meters were voted in, as was the occupation tax, which financed many of the improvements. There were many other progressive steps under Penix's leadership. He proved to be the man of the hour at that point in Jonesboro's history. In the late 1920's, Penix served with distinction as Craighead's representative in the Arkansas house. One of his most notable achievements was the establishment of a Municipal Court in the Western District of Craighead County to replace the outmoded justice of the peace courts. In 1958, Penix was a leader in the successful movement that merged Jonesboro and Nettleton. The progressive step has been a key to Jonesboro's industrial growth. At the end of World War I, Penix attended a convention in St. Louis at which the American Legion was born. Inspired by the new organization in the formation of which he had a part, he brought about the organization of Pickett Post of the Legion in Jonesboro and was its first commander. Penix was a prominent attorney for many years, and the law firm he founded is recognized as one of Arkansas' leading legal groups. The entire career of Roy Penix, who died Tuesday at the age of 86, was marked by contributions to the betterment of his city and his state. His impressive record testifies eloquently to the achievement that were wrought by this energetic and distinguished citizen. Arkansas Gazette, Little Rock, AR, (date of death September 21, 1991) Judge Marian Penix, 1st woman on state appeals court, dies ******************* Was also federal magistrate Judge Marian F. Penix, 67, of Jonesboro, a federal magistrate and the first woman on the state Court of Appeals, died of cancer Saturday morning. Judge Penix was a federal magistrate for the Eastern District of Arkansas of the U.S. District Court and was one of the first six judges to serve on the Arkansas Court of Appeals. She and her husband were partners in the Jonesboro law firm of Penix, Penix & Lusby. Gov. Bill Clinton appointed her to serve on the state's first Court of Appeals in 1979. She took a leave of absence from her federal post. She was magistrate of 30 years, returning to position after her term on the appeals court ended. "She and her family have been close friends of Hillary's and mine for 20 years," Clinton said Saturday. "I was very proud to appoint her to the Court of Appeals. She did a wonderful job there." Clinton was informed of her death by an Arkansas Gazette reporter at the Los Angeles meeting of the Democratic National Committee. In a 1980 interview with the Gazette, Judge Penix said that being the first woman on the state Court of Appeals added to her responsibilities "because women are still on display in this field. Not only must you determine to do well for yourself-for your own sense of worth - you want to do well as a woman. We all have an obligation there," she said. U.S. District Judge Elsijane T. Roy said Judge Penix "was an outstanding attorney and did a fine job for us as a magistrate. She had a good judicial temperament and she could be very patient." Judge Penix graduated from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville with a bachelor's degree in social work. She received her law degree in 1949 from the university's law school. A Tulsa native, Penix was among the earliest women graduates of the University of Arkansas School of Law. She practiced law at Jonesboro for more than 40 years. "I really went to law school because the first social welfare laws were being passed at the time. My instructors thought I could do more in the field with a law degree. Social welfare has always been the area of my greatest interests." she said in the 1980 Gazette interview. Her husband, Bill Penix of Jonesboro, had already started law school when World War II interrupted his studies. While he was serving in the war, Judge Penix began her law studies. The couple finished their last year of study together, Bill Penix said. "Although she received her law degree in 1949, we had four children. She helped out a little but she really got active in the law practice when the baby born in 1956 started school," Penix said. "She was just a magnificent woman. My wife has been my conscience all of my life," he said. Judge Penix was a member of the First United Methodist Church in Jonesboro. She was former president of the Jonesboro Junior Auxiliary and was active in the Jonesboro Fine Arts Council. She was an Arkansas delegate to the 1972 Democratic National Convention. In March, she was preceded in death by a son, Bill Penix, Jr., a mental-health nurse who was slain while attempting to help a patient. In addition to her husband, she is survived by a son, Charley Penix of North Little Rock; two daughters, Susan Penix of Fayetteville and Jayne Penix Davis of Jonesboro; and seven grandchildren. A memorial service is scheduled for 2 p.m. Monday in Jonesboro First United Methodist Church by the Rev. Fred Haustein. Arrangements are under the direction of Emerson Funeral Home. Memorials may be made to St. Bernard's Hospice Program or the Jonesboro Church Health Care Center, in care of the Jonesboro First United Methodist Church. Arkansas Gazette, Little Rock, AR, March 30, 1991 Bill Penix Jr. remembered as a 'wounded healer' ************** JONESBORO - In the midst of an early spring snow storm, friends and family gathered Friday to remember Bill Penix, Jr., the mental health case manager who was stabbed to death Wednesday at an out-patient's home.