Dr. Claude Lee Pennington Jr.

Dr. Claude Lee Pennington, Jr.
Macon, GA- Dr. Claude L. Pennington, Jr. died July 27, 2013 at home. He was born on November 20, 1927, the son of Dr. Claude L. Pennington, Sr. and Evelyn Adams Pennington. His brother, Frederick A. Pennington, preceded him in death. He is survived by his loving wife of thirty-seven years, Kay Ricks Pennington, son Claude Lee Pennington III of Macon, Georgia, a daughter, Evelyn P. Olsen and two grandchildren, Michael and Dana Olsen of Atlanta, Georgia.

Burial will be private, memorial services will be held 11:00 am, Tuesday, July 30, 2013 at Christ Episcopal Church, 582 Walnut Street, Macon, Georgia 31201. The family will receive friends following the service in the Great Hall at Christ Church.

Dr. Pennington grew up in a medical family. Besides his father, an Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat surgeon, his maternal uncle, Dr. J. Fred Adams of Montezuma, Georgia and five first cousins, all physicians, provided him with an early interest in medicine.

Educated in the public schools of Bibb County, as a member of Troop 3, Boy Scouts of America in Macon, he attained the status of Eagle Scout at age thirteen. At age fifteen, he attended and graduated from Darlington School in Rome, Georgia.

Dr. Pennington received his pre-medical education at Mercer University and graduated from the Medical College of Georgia in 1949 at the age of twenty-one. Following an internship at The Macon Hospital (now the Medical Center of Central Georgia) and a residency in internal medicine at the University Hospital in Augusta, Georgia, he served two years as a Captain in the U.S. Air Force Medical Corp during the Korean War. Following his military service, he trained in Otolaryngology at The Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in New York City from 1953 -1956 and did additional post graduate training at Lempert Institute of Otology in New York City.

In late 1956, Dr. Pennington began his practice of Otolaryngology in Macon, Georgia and was the first physician of The ENT Medical Group, currently known as The ENT Center of Central Georgia. In 1957, he was credentialed by The American Board of Otolaryngology. He pioneered some of the first microsurgery for reconstruction of the middle ear in the Southeast, and wrote extensively on surgical techniques in his field throughout his years of active practice. In 1963, he founded the Central Georgia Speech and Hearing Center as a nonprofit community agency to provide speech and hearing services for the severely handicapped children and adults in the Middle Georgia community.

Dr. Pennington was an active medical staff member at the Medical Center of Central Georgia, serving as Chief of the Otolaryngology service, Chairman of the Surgical Section of the Medical Staff, as well as five years of service on the Medical Center of Central Georgia Medical Staff Executive Committee. In 1989, he was elected Chief of Staff at the Medical Center of Central Georgia.

For fifteen years, during active practice, he taught medical students, first from the Medical College of Georgia and later at Mercer University Medical School. He also taught interns and surgical residents at the Medical Center of Central Georgia for thirty-one years. He was appointed the first professor of Otolaryngology for Mercer University Medical School. Dr. Pennington was the President of the Georgia Society of Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology in 1967, Past President of The American Council of Otolaryngology 1972-1974 and was named a Past President of The American Academy of Otolaryngology in 1982 when the two groups merged. Dr. Pennington was elected to membership to a number of senior surgical societies in otolaryngology including The Triological Society, American Otological Society, and The American Laryngological Association. On retiring from medical practice in 1990, he was named an Emeritus Professor of Mercer University. He was a member of Christ Episcopal Church.
Visit www.snowsmacon.com to express tributes.
Snow's Memorial Chapel Funeral & Cremation Services, Cherry Street, has charge of arrangements.