Richard Byron Penuel

1932 - 2020

Richard Byron Penuel

Nashville - Richard Byron Penuel of Nashville, Tennessee, died October 17, 2020. He was beloved by his family and scores of men and women he mentored at the Southwestern Company and members of his church, Westminster Presbyterian Church of Nashville. He was known to all for his generosity, mentorship, passion for basketball, service to church and community, storytelling, and a deep and enduring love of family.

Rich was born September 13, 1932 in Watertown, Tennessee, to Reverend Carmack Penuel and Mary McCoy Penuel. He grew up along the outskirts of Nashville, attending DuPont and Mt Juliet Elementary Schools, DuPont High School. He attended and graduated from Gallatin High School, before attending Middle Tennessee State College and then Memphis State University.

The summer of 1952 began his connection to the Southwestern Company. He sold Bibles, religious books, and educational books door-to-door that summer and again from 1953-1955 in South Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. His earnings helped pay for his college education, and in 1954 he graduated from Union University.

From 1954 to 1956, Rich attended Indiana University, where he earned a Master's in Business Administration.

From 1956 to 1958 he served in the U.S. Army in both Fort Chaffee, Arkansas and Fort Bliss, Texas. Immediately on his honorable discharge from the Army, he went to work for IBM in Cincinnati, Ohio and West Lafayette, Indiana.

In fall of 1958, Rich became the bookkeeper for the Southwestern Company. He would become its Chief Financial Officer and remain at the company through the end of 1972. His time at Southwestern was one of tremendous growth for the company, and where he was one of five co-owners who embodied its core principles of supporting the work and development of thousands of student book sellers. Southwestern colleague and close friend Tom McDow described Rich's time at Southwestern this way: "it was Rich's keen intellect and financial acumen that made him an excellent Treasurer of The Southwestern Company, but it was his relational skills that endeared him to the employees and student dealers. Always affirming and encouraging, Rich took genuine interest in the concerns of others. He was a man of strong character and integrity, who lived out his faith. Rich was respected and trusted by all."

Just after joining Southwestern, Rich also became a member of Westminster Presbyterian Church of Nashville. He would go on to serve multiple terms on the church Session as an elder, as a leader on the new members committee, and as a leader of multiple fundraising campaigns for the church. Guy Griffith, Associate Pastor for Adult Education and Spiritual Nurture at Westminster, said of Rich, "It is hard to imagine Westminster without Rich Penuel and his warm, enthusiastic welcome. Even in his last few years he wanted to be on the New Member Committee to greet personally those joining the church and last year joined the newly formed Faith & Fellowship Sunday School Class even though he was by far the senior member. Rich has had a life-long commitment to deep Bible study and has likely forgotten more Bible than what any of his pastors ever learned, though he graciously never lorded it over them. Rather, he was a constant source of encouragement and support for all the pastors. The church has benefited from his wise counsel as an Elder on Session and many members benefited from his guidance on financial matters. But what has amazed us all was his continuing to play Wednesday night church basketball until he was 83! Rich's vibrant faith in God and commitment to following as Christ's disciple in all facets of his life served as a winsome witness at Westminster. We give thanks to God for the gift Rich was in our community."

Rich was active in service to multiple charitable organizations in his community in Nashville. He served as past chair of the board for the Martha O'Bryan Center, for the Westminster School (Now Currey Ingram Academy), as well as on the board of the Green Hills YMCA. He was also active in serving the Metropolitan Nashville YMCA, the Better Business Bureau, and the

Middle Tennessee Financial Planners.

He is preceded in death by parents Carmack S. Penuel & Mary McCoy Penuel, first wife Ann Norris Shires Penuel, and second wife Martha Lee Smith Penuel, whose mutual care was a witness to both their faiths. He is survived by sons William R. Penuel (Edie) and David A. Penuel (Amy), stepdaughter Martha Lott (Lance), stepsons Jerry K. Humphreys, Jr. and Thomas S. Humphreys (Tricia); brother Arnold M. Penuel (Patty), Mt Pleasant, SC., sister Bettye Martin of Knoxville, TN and Rachel Matlock (Richard) of Nashville, TN; 13 grandchildren and 6 great grandchildren; sister-in-law Gail McFarlin (Whitney) of Minneapolis, MN and six nieces (Julie, Dawne, Nikki, Mary Kathryn, Suzanne, Lee) and four nephews (John Penuel, Rob Martin, Michael McFarlin, Alan McFarlin).

Services for Rich will be held for family at Westminster Presbyterian Church on Saturday, October 24 at 3:30 pm, and streamed online at https://vimeo.com/event/6716. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Westminster Presbyterian Church, the Martha O'Bryan Center, or the Currey Ingram School.