Ethelreda Josephine “Ethie” (Scholz) Penning, age 93, of Atchison, Kansas, passed away Monday, March 7, 2022, at Atchison Senior Village.

Mass of Christian burial will be Monday, March 14, 2022, at 11 A.M. at St. Joseph Church with Fr. Jeremy Heppler, OSB as celebrant. Interment will follow in St. Patrick’s Cemetery. Parish rosary will be at 4 P.M. on Sunday, March 13th with visitation to follow until 5:30 P.M. at the Arensberg-Pruett Funeral Home. Memorial contributions are suggested to St. Patrick’s Cemetery or St. Benedict Catholic School Endowment and may be left in care of the Arensberg-Pruett Funeral Home.

Ethelreda was born on November 5, 1928, in Doniphan, Kansas, to Henry and Mary (Greub) Scholz. She attended Geary Grade School and graduated from Doniphan High School. She furthered her education for one year at Highland College to earn her teaching degree. 

Ethie was a teacher for one year at the Geary one room school house before marrying Leonard J. Penning on October 18, 1948, at St. John’s Catholic Church in Doniphan. After marriage, she became a homemaker raising her children, including taking care of the family’s large garden which produced great fruits and vegetables for her to can. She also raised chickens to fill the freezer with fresh meat for countless homemade meals for her family and hired farm hands and provide farm fresh eggs. She enjoyed mowing her lawn, tending to her flowers, sewing clothes for her daughters and patching up the boys work clothes.

She was a member of St. Benedict Parish in Atchison, attending St. Joseph Church and was a former President and member of the St. Patrick’s Altar Society.

Survivors include her five children, Karen (Wayne) McCullough, Louise (Jay) Wells, Robert (Katherine) Penning, Thomas (Theresa) Penning, Michael (Karen) Penning; fourteen grandchildren; twenty-three great grandchildren; her sister, Agnes Lohman; sister-in-law, Wanda Scholz and brother-in-law, Louis (Patsy) Penning. 

She was predeceased by her husband, Leonard Penning on June 27, 2012 and her siblings, Maynard, Leonard, Henry Scholz and Rosaleen (Scholz) Ramsey.