PENNEY, Richard Lee 1935-1993

PENNEY, LARSON, LANDBORG

Posted By: County Coordinator
Date: 7/29/2009 at 15:18:51

#1:

Richard Penney, 58, and formerly of Osage, Iowa, died in December 1993, in Clarksville, Butler county, Iowa.

Richard Lee Penney was born on July 30, 1935, and grew up in Osage. He is the adopted son of Hartley L. Penney and Mabel (Larson) Penney. Richard had a sister, Ann, who was his biological sister. He graduated from Osage Community High School. Following high school he attended and graduated from St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minnesota in 1957. He then attended the University of Wisconsin, receiving a doctorate degree in zoology.

In August 1955 he married Pat Landborg, also of Osage, at Our Savior's Lutheran church in Osage. Pat is the daughter of the late Clifford Landborg and Mrs. Gerhard Goplerud. They were the parents of three children: twins, David and Deanna (born 1956), and Steven (born 1958). They later divorced.

In 1958 Richard made his first of several trips to Antarctica -- participating in Operation Deep Freeze IV. At that time he was working for the University of Wisconsin. In 1963 he performed an experiment with Adelie penguins, determining that they have a way to find their homes, even if lost. He spent over 40 months in Antarctica doing his research.

In 1964 he was working as a scientist at Johns Hopkins University, continuing research on Antarctic penguins.

In 1969 he was a research zoologist at the Bronx Zoo in New York; and also an assistant professor at Rockefeller University.
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#2:

Notes regarding Richard's birth parents.

Richard's birth parents were John William Purviance and Marie (Phistler) Purviance. John was a truck driver for Gulf Oil who died of cancer of liver. There were seven children; Patricia (married Steve Pappas), Virginia (married name Lohmeyer) Carry Lane, Don Earl, Keith, Dale Richard (after adoption he was Richard L. Penney) Marie Lynn (After adoption became Ann Marie Penney Bowman) and her twin sister Mary who died young of mastoid of the ear.

John and Marie split in 1939 and most of the children went to relatives except Dale Richard and Marie Lynn were adopted by Harley and Mabel Penney and renamed Richard and Ann.

(Info from daughter of Richard Penney)
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#3:

See additional information concerning Richard Penney at http://iagenweb.org/mitchell/localdat/pennguin.htm
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#4:
lowan Writes Book For
Children About Penguins

OSAGE, 1A. — A former Osage resident, Dr. Richard L. Penney, is the author of a new childrens science book, "The Penguins Are Coming!" published by Harper and Row.

Penney grew up in Osage and is the son of Mrs. Hartley Penney and the late Mr. Penney. He was graduated from the Osage Community High School and received his doctorate in zoology from the University of Wisconsin. He is now a research zoologist in the animal behavior laboratory of the New York Zoological Society at the Bronx Zoo and an assistant professor at Rockefeller University.

The book traces the life cycle of the Adelie penguins of Antarctica. Penney's research on the book took him to Antarctica five times for a total of 41 months.

The 62-page book is illustrated by Tom Eaton. It was dedicated to the three Penney children, twins, David and Deanna, and Steven.

Mrs. Penney is the former Pat Landborg of Osage. She also was graduated from the Osage Community High School.

[Des Moines Register, Sunday, December 14, 1969, Des Moines, Iowa]
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#5:

On November 5, 1976 Richard Lee Penney married Mary Katherine Wellen at the Old Stone Methodist Church in Rock Falls, Iowa.

In December 1981, Joshua Richard Penney was born to Richard and Mary in Mason City, Iowa. Richard and Mary were married for 14 years. Richard actually had four children, not three.

Richard died December 12, 1993 in Clarksville, Iowa, of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was preceded in death by his sister Ann who died in Guatemala. Richard's son David died in upstate New York in 2005, also of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Information by email October 2012 from:
Mary Katherine Penney-Madison
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Two photos of Richard Penney.

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