Edward Leigh "Bud" Penniman

Edward Leigh "Bud" Penniman, 83, of Fort Scott died Friday morning, March 7, 2008, at the Guest Home Estates, in Fort Scott. He was born May 27, 1924, in Fort Scott, the son of James Brown and Kathryn Johnston Pratt Penniman.

Mr. Penniman attended Fort Scott schools graduating in the High School Class of 1941. During this time he was a member of the choir at the First Presbyterian Church. After one year at Fort Scott Junior College he attended the University of Texas at Austin. At the end of his sophomore year there he entered military service during World War II training as a medic in the Army infantry at Camp Barkley, Texas. Following this he was sent to the Army Specialized Training program at Rutgers University in New Jersey, then he joined the 104th Infantry Division in Camp Carson, Colo. He went overseas with the 104th and spent a year in combat duty as a battalion aid medic in France, Belgium, Holland and Germany, including the Battle of the Bulge. When the European conflict ended, the Division was returned to the U.S. for further training in California and deployment to the Pacific area but the end of the Was came and he was discharged from the Army in San Luis Obispo, Calif., in November 1945.

Resuming his education, Mr. Penniman returned to the University of Texas for a year, then, was admitted to Columbia University in New York City where he spent the next three years. His final college year was at Southern Methodist University in Dallas after which he returned to Fort Scott to enter the family business at the Penniman Hardware Company, on Market Street. After four generations (105 years) the business closed during the Urban Renewal program in 1973 and he became semi-retired but was also employed at the Fort Scott Greenhouse for the next 19 years, and in August 1978, became secretary for the Fort Scott Cemetery Association holding that position until December 2007. He also became active in collecting antiques and engaged in their sale in several locations in the area.

Survivors include Mr. Penniman's nephew, Ralph O. Willard and wife Susan, of Fort Scott, his niece Janice Kay Allen and husband Pete, of Mansfield, Texas, two grand nieces, Holly Ross of Houston, Texas, and Kathy Allen, of Mansfield, Texas, and two grand nephews, Barry Willard, of Overland Park, Kan., and Bret Allen of Mansfield, Texas. He was preceded in death by his parents and one sister, Betty Ruth Willard.

The Rev. Steve MacArthur will conduct funeral services at 2 p.m., on Monday, March 10, at the Konantz-Cheney Funeral Home. Burial will be in the Family Plot at Evergreen Cemetery. Memorials may be made to either the Fort Scott Cemetery Association or the Old Fort Genealogical Society and may be sent to or left in the care of the Konantz-Cheney Funeral Home, 15 W. Wall St., P.O. Box 309, Fort Scott, KS 66701. Online condolences may be emailed to expressions@konantz-cheney.com.