Penelope Lynne

January 22, 1941 - November 25, 2023

Penelope Lynne Morrison was born January 22, 1941 to parents Helen and Stewart. One of her earliest memories that shaped the rest of her life was saying goodbye to her father as he left to active duty during WW2 from which he never returned. She gained a loving stepfather when her mother remarried Wesley Bogdan and soon Penelope and her brother, Art, were joined by a younger sister, Rebecca. The new family lived throughout the US and Penelope spent two formative high school years in Germany.

Penelope attended Purdue University in Indiana were she met and married Roland (Bud) Allen. After graduating, they lived in Dallas, Terre Haute, and then settled in Davis, CA with their two young daughters. Penelope taught school for many years at Birch Lane Elementary where she touched the lives of hundreds of students.

After divorcing, Penelope dropped her surname and created a new life for herself in her much beloved South Lake Tahoe, CA. She was proud to own her own perfect home and continue teaching in her new town. After retiring from South Tahoe Middle School, she enjoyed a few years selling the photographs of local artist Jon Paul in his gallery. She discovered a love of dogs and could often be seen out walking her golden retrievers, Sadie and Sundance, through her neighborhood. She loved to read and write and explore new age spiritual ideas. She grew a large and varied circle of wonderful friends that became her Tahoe family.

After having a stroke in 2019 that left her unable to live alone, Penelope sadly left her home and entered assisted living in Carson City, Nevada. Less than a year later, increasing mental impairment led to a relocation to a memory care facility in Rancho Mirage California, near the home of her daughter Beth. During her final years, dementia took her mind and eventually her body shut down too. A day after a visit with both of her daughters, she died peacefully in her sleep on November 25, 2023.

Penelope is survived by her daughters, Elizabeth and Heather, her sister Rebecca, and her dear, dear friends. She will be remembered for her caring nature, slightly neurotic housekeeping demands, and her big, beautiful heart.

Penelope/Mom, we've missed you for a few years now but today can say good bye with lighter hearts knowing that your mind is free from disease and you are at rest. You touched the lives of so many. You will never be forgotten. We love you.