Charles Pennel

Charles “Chuck” Edward Pennel was born to Kelton and Lulu Pennel  Jan. 18, 1930, at their home on the farm near Elk Point, S.D.  He had three brothers (Warren, Robert, and Glen) and four sisters (Lois, Erma, Letah and Joanne).         
Charles married Dorothy Parsons June 6, 1953. They had four children, Margaret, Susan, Thomas and Gerald.
Chuck graduated from high school and attended many classes in electricity.  He worked for Black Hills Power and the Bureau of Reclamation at Watertown, S.D., and in Page, Ariz.  While at Page, he worked in Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado.
His family had a band and played for dances around the Hills (two brothers, one sister and friends).  There was always music at any family gathering. One of Charles’ brothers played accordion, the other played drums and a sister played piano. Charles sang with the band. He enjoyed writing songs and poems. Two of his songs were copywrited. 
Chuck had many passions, one of which was rock hunting, especially agate collecting. At one time he was a member of the Custer Rock Club and was president of a rock club in Newcastle, Wyo. He enjoyed cutting and polishing stones for jewelry and made necklaces, broaches, etc. As a boy, he climbed the hills and walked all over the Hill City, S.D., area.  Charles enjoyed fishing and he liked wood carving, especially replicas of World War II airplanes, including a Cobra helicopter, a Gullwing and a B29 bomber.
Chuck, of Custer, S.D., died April 5, 2020, at Monument Health Nursing Home in Custer. He was 90.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Kelton and Lulu Pennel; brothers,  Warren Pennel, Robert Pennel and Glen Pennel; sisters,  Joanne Pennel and Erma Kreutzer; daughter-in-law, Connie Pennel; grandson, Joshua Lamb; and great-granddaughter, Isabella Sue Pennel. 
Chuck is survived by his wife, Dorothy of Custer; sons, Thomas (Martha Terry) Pennel of Buckholtz, Texas and Gerald (Anita) Pennel of Sidney, Neb.; daughters,  Margaret (Mark) Gant of Sioux City, Iowa) and Susan (Don) Lamb of Florence, Texas; sisters, Lois Halley of Keystone, S.D., and Letah Sauer of Eureka, Calif.; 13 grandchildren, 29 great-grandchildren, one great-great-grandchild; and numerous nieces and nephews.
Service will be held after the coronavirus restrictions are lifted.
Arrangements have been placed in the care of Chamberlain McColley’s Funeral Home in Custer.
 

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