A Fond Farewell to a Great Local Civic Leader Carolyn Joyce Brenneman Pendergrass March 11, 1934-April 19, 2014. Carolyn began her journey in Lima, Ohio in 1934. She is preceded in death by her parents, Virgil A. Brenneman and Beulah Lewis Thurston and her brothers Virgil Brenneman and Gary Thurston and her sister Angela Thurston. Carolyn was one of thirteen children. She grew up in Van Wert, Ohio and in surrounding areas. She spent her high school years at the Marsh Foundation, an orphanage for impoverished children. This experience most definitely shaped Carolyn's view of the world. At the Marsh, Carolyn trained to be a stenographer which led her directly to her beloved: She married George Washington Pendergrass, Jr. of Beattyville, KY on Sept. 5, 1953. Carolyn graduated as a teacher with a BA at SEMO in 1971. She gained her Masters of Education later in 1985. She found her niche in Oran Public Schools in 1971 and retired in 1997. There she taught two generations of kindergarten and second grade students in the Oran school district. She was simply beloved by those students in Oran. She could literally remember every child that gave her a "teacher's gift" that dotted the house for all those years as they were also beloved to her. Carolyn took a vital role in the development of St. Mark's Lutheran Church of Cape Girardeau where she served as on the board and as president and secretary over a 40 year span. She also served as a member of the Lutheran Church Womens Association. She later became a member of Sargents Chapel Lutheran Church of Sedgewickville, MO. Her sultry, alto voice was always present in the choir every Sunday. Carolyn was active in the Cape Civic Center for many years. Her role there enabled preschool education and housing for the poor in Cape Girardeau. She served on the board with the KRCU National Public Radio for several years on the Southeast Missouri State University campus. In Scott City Carolyn took responsibility for the edification of the city. Both George and Carolyn were instrumental in the development of the Scott City Park. She was a longtime member of Kiwanis Club, Scott City Zoning Board as chair, and as past president of the Sunny Village Garden Club. Her legacy includes the trees and flowers lining the access road of the park and all along Main Street. Carolyn's keen interest in local history began a long stint as president of the Scott City Historical Preservation Society and member of the Scott County Preservation Society. She brought into being the Box Car Museum on Main Street, a tribute to "box car children" such as Manny Jackson of the Harlem Globetrotters, who attended Scott City's Centennial Celebration in 2004. Sadly, the museum fell prey to arson. She opened up a second museum in Scott City. In what truly had to be Scott City's funniest moment, Carolyn and her Preservation pals schemed to bring in the area's oldest one room school house from 1858 (found full of hay outside of town!) to old Illmo on a platform in 2008. Families from the area sent in memorabilia of their ancestors' photos, trophies, and desks and the Preservation Society primed, painted and created the old schoolhouse. It was Carolyn's pride and joy that burned up in smoke through vandalism in 2008 just one day after opening. Carolyn remarked to her family, "I think Scott City is trying to tell me it doesn't want me to make another museum." So Carolyn took her magnificent passion for life and others and entered into volunteering by tutoring at St. Joseph's School, doing advocacy for children in crisis in the CASAS program, becoming a Hospice volunteer, and helping with the SCIP parks program in Scott City. She became an avid Red Hat's Society member and will be buried in her red hat and purple outfit! Surviving is husband, George Pendergrass Jr. (Founder of Pendergrass Inc.) of Scott City, MO, children: Alma Joyce Fijardo Pendergrass of Portland, OR, David Pendergrass of Overland Park, KS; Alan Pendergrass, of Chaffee, MO, Kathy (and Arthur) Marsyla of Cape Girardeau, and her "adopted" daughter, Kimberly Eyer of Marina del Rey, CA, and grandchildren: Jonathan Pendergrass, Karen Pendergrass, Courtney (and Michael) Haugh, Susan Pendergrass, Angela Pendergrass, Taylor Marsyla, Christopher Marsyla and Khaymanta Fijardo and week old great grandchild, Lilian Harper. Also surviving, are her sibilings: Gaynella McGuire of Danville, KY, George Brenneman of Sacramento, CA, Ron Brenneman of Lake Havasu City, AZ, Iona Brennemen of Sacramento, CA, Vicky (and Sonny) Byers of Piqua, OH, Linda Thurston of Dayton, OH, and Phillip (and Nida) Thurston, Bruce Thurston, and Timothy Thurston of Celina, OH, and numerous nieces and nephews. She is gone but can never be forgotten as her life is intertwined in ours and our community's life. Visitation will be from 4:00 - 8:00 PM on Wednesday at the Amick-Burnett Chapel in Scott City, MO. Funeral Service will be at 11:00 AM on Thursday at the chapel with Rev. Jerry Bailey officiating. Burial will be in Lightner Cemetery in Scott City. In lieu of flowers, the family has requested that donations be made to Carolyn's service organizations that she served faithfully: Sunny Village Garden Club, the Scott City Preservation Society or Sargents Chapel Lutheran Church.
