George David Penrod, 94, of Hampton VA, passed away peacefully on February 5, 2021 at his daughter, Robin Marie Penrod Lanning and son-in-law, Jerry Allan Lanning's house.  He was a strong and proud man that did not want to be a burden in his final years and insisted on staying in his home almost until the end until he lost his battle with pneumonia.  He was born to parents George Adam & Matilda Diener Penrod, on January 13, 1927, in Pittsburgh, PA.  He was preceded in death by the love of his life, Esther Daley Penrod, on January 11, 2016.  They were married on July 6, 1957 and were together for 60 years.  George is survived by his two daughters, Heather Penrod-Rudd (Rickey Rudd) and Robin Lanning (Al Lanning).

He joined the US Navy at 17 right before his 18 ^th birthday and proudly served in both WWII & the Korean war.   George went to college at night and studied Drafting.  He then went to work at Transformer Valve in Pittsburgh where he met and courted his wife, Esther.

He later became a Senior Piping Designer obtaining a job at Newport News Shipbuilding which brought the family to Hampton, VA.   He eventually settled in at M. Rosenblatt and Son, Inc., a Naval Architecture and Design Engineering firm, in Newport News, VA where he stayed until retiring at 65.  He loved taking the younger people on the aircraft carriers, showing them the ropes and sharing all the fun stories from his Navy days.  We believe this is how he stayed so young at heart.  He traveled all over the country from Guam to San Diego and Boston to name just a few while working at that job.  George and Esther also traveled after retirement for around 13 years and particularly loved going to Maui and Tortola in the British Virgin Islands.

They raised their family in Carnegie, PA in a quiet neighborhood beside the woods.  He enjoyed pheasant hunting with the family dog, an Irish Setter named Princess.  They had many dogs over the years that they loved dearly.  He enjoyed woodworking and had a garage stuffed full of tools where he made everything including plant shelves, paper towel holders, stools, bird houses and even Reindeer!  He also never got over his love of the sea and enjoyed taking his sailboat out all by himself in the Bay.

Georges' grin, laugh and even snort was infectious and everyone that came in contact with him in his later years always say that they loved to see him come into the bank or grocery store and, yes, even the ABC store.  He would speak to anyone that had the time to talk and never knew a stranger.  Even when he wasn't feeling his best, he had a positive attitude and wanted to share a laugh.

Last of all George liked to go fast!  Over the years he had two convertible mustangs and two corvettes with the last corvette being bright red that he gifted himself upon his retirement.

A visitation will be held on Friday, February 19, 2021 at R. Hayden Smith Funeral Home on Armistead Ave. from 5:30-6:30 pm.

In lieu of flowers a donation can be made in his name at one of the following:

Children's Hospital of the King's Daughter, Salvation Army, Peninsula Literacy Council and the Animal Aid Society.

A PARABLE OF IMMORTALITY

by Henry Van Dyke

"I am standing upon the seashore. A ship at my side spreads her white sails to the morning breeze and starts for the blue ocean. She is an object of beauty and strength, and I stand and watch until at last she hangs like a speck of white cloud just where the sea and sky come down to mingle with each other. Then someone at my side says, 'There she goes!'

Gone where? Gone from my sight ... that is all. She is just as large in mast and hull and spar as she was when she left my side and just as able to bear her load of living freight to the place of destination. Her diminished size is in me, not in her. And just at the moment when someone at my side says, 'There she goes!' there are other eyes watching her coming and their voices ready to take up the glad shouts 'Here she comes!"