ROBERT PENNOYER

1925 - 2023

PENNOYER--Robert M., died peacefully at his sum-mer home in South Dartmouth, MA, on August 13, 2023. He was 98. He was married for 65 years to the love of his life, Victoria Parsons Pennoyer, who died in 2013. He is survived by the children he adored: Christy, Russell (Helen), Tracy (John Auchincloss) and Peter (Katie Ridder); his eleven grandchildren: Kate, Frances and Molly Greathead; Gordon, Robbie and Margaret Pennoyer; Emily and James Auchincloss; and Jane, Tony and Gigi Pennoyer; and his eight great-grandchildren. He was born in 1925 in his grandfather J. P. Morgan's house on 37th Street, now part of the Morgan Library. On entering Harvard in 1942, when he was 17, he enlisted in the Navy ROTC and served for two years in the Pacific aboard a cruiser that was damaged at Iwo Jima. After law school, he served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, followed by four years in Washington in the Eisenhower administration as Assistant to the General Counsel in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. In that role, he defied Senator Joseph McCarthy during contentious hearings before the Senate's Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. Returning to New York in the late 1950s, he joined Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler where for more than 60 years he divided his time between law practice and community service. In the 1960s he founded Exodus House, a halfway house for men coming out of prison, and over the years served as trustee of numerous charitable organizations, including, for more than 50 years, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Morgan Library. He became a Democrat and a passionate advocate for various causes, notably a woman's right to choose and the separation of church and state. In 2007 he established the William C. Bullitt Foundation at the behest of a client, to support the well-being of people, society and the natural environment. His commitment to social justice and civic engagement continued until his end. At the age of 90, he wrote his memoir, "As It Was," which introduced a wider audience to his remarkable life story. His memorial service will be held on September 30th at 10:30am at the Church of the Heavenly Rest, 90th Street and Fifth Avenue, New York City. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Rocking the Boat, 812 Edgewater Road, Bronx, NY 10474; or the Trust Women Foundation, P.O. Box 3222, Wichita, KS 67201.