Daniel Mason Penn

Daniel Mason Penn died on November 21st, 2010. He died at home and his family was with him continually. Dan was born in Chicago, IL on December 11th, 1940 to Varence Taylor Penn and Marjorie Ruth Godwin Spaid. He is predeceased by his parents and his brothers Charles and Robert Penn. His brother "Chuck" was a Capt. in the Army and died in Vietnam. Brother "Rusty" also served in the Army and Dan's father Varence "Red" served in the Army overseas during World War II. Dan grew up in Lincolnshire, IL and graduated from Crete-Monee High School. He attended Purdue University in Indiana. He graduated from the University of Illinois in 1962 and joined the US Marine Corp Reserves. He served from 1962 to 1968 and trained on Parris Island, SC and Camp Lejeune, NC. He earned his commercial pilot license in 1964 from Embry Riddle Aeronautical Institute in Fl., though he soon decided on a business career. Dan joined the Burroughs Corp in Chicago and also worked for them at their headquarters in Detroit MI. He then worked at the Federal Home Loan Bank in Chicago as VP of Data Processing. In 1968 he married Sara Degnan Fitzgerald, a Montessori teacher. Son Sean Charles was born in Hyde Park, IL in 1970, and daughter Shannon Fitzgerald was born in 1973 in Evanston, IL. He completed his MBA at the University of Chicago, Executive Program, around 1976. In 1977 the family moved to Greenville, SC and later to Central, SC. where Dan worked for the Realtec Inc., a small resort development Co. In 1987 the family moved to Roswell, GA where Dan and a partner started a resort consulting company called RS&M (Resort Sales and Marketing). In 1997 his son Sean married Kim Busavage and they have two children. Mason is six and Isabella is one. In 2000 his daughter Shannon married Scott DeMange and they have three children. Aramiah and Elianah are five and Isaiah is one. These five beautiful grandchildren and their parents were Dan's great joy and why he considered his life a "tremendous success". In 1997 Dan and Sara moved to Bodega Bay and then Santa Rosa, where all the family now resides. He and Sara became members of the First United Methodist Church. In 1999 Dan retired and in 2005 he started maintaining a small vineyard and harvesting, crushing, pressing and bottling the grapes with his whole family. He was very fond of his volunteer work with Sutter Hospital, Sierra Club Sonoma Group, and the Stewards of the Coast and Redwoods. Dan and Sara's close friends have been a true circle of support and happiness. Dan enjoyed discussions with his friends on all subjects, and also enjoyed reading, traveling, walking, hiking, and in earlier years, biking, skiing and tennis. Dan loved his extended family deeply. Though some have passed on, he treasured his sisters and brothers-in-law (Ann and John Caron, Moira Collins and Andrew Griffin, Audrey and John Cushing Fitzgerald, Mark Fitzgerald, Gail Penn, and Anita Penn); and his nieces and nephews. Dan's legacy continues in the hearts of his family, to whom he imparted unconditional love and generosity while providing a foundation and atmosphere for growth and opportunity. Dan's quest for truth and discovery, his appreciation for nature and his love for his family will be carried forward through his wife, his children and his grandchildren. "Children's children are a crown to the aged, and parents are the pride of their children." Proverbs 17:6. For friends and family who would like to post a memory and/or a picture please go to Dan's Memorial Website at this address: www.dan.penn.muchloved.com Family assisted by: SANTA ROSA MEMORIAL PARK, 707-542-3154