Obituary of Penney Pagones

Latham - In the early morning hours of Monday, February 19th, Penney Pagones left this life as peacefully as she lived it, at the age of 79. She leaves a legacy of kindness, warmth and generosity and her memory is already a comfort and inspiration to the family and friends she leaves behind. Penney was born on October 20, 1944 in Schenectady, New York as a middle child, to Peter and Sophie Corsones and spent her entire life within a few miles of her birthplace. Those early years helped foster what became a lifelong appreciation of faith, via the Greek Orthodox Church and family through the close bonds formed with her loving sisters, Georgia (Peter) Chamberas and Demetra Corsones. Penney's future happiness was set before she realized it, when she agreed to attend a wedding in Syracuse, New York. There she met Peter Pagones, who she would marry on November 9, 1969 and with whom she would enjoy 54 years of marriage. Motherhood and a sense of fulfillment followed soon after their wedding with the births of their children, Elaina and Damian. She instilled in them values of honesty, caring and a fierce loyalty to those they love, that has resulted in deep friendships that they benefit from, to this day. In her life Penney held several jobs but they were all taken in furtherance of her true passion…Family. It was within the family context that she held all the titles of significance to her life; daughter, sister, wife, aunt, grandmother (yia yia) and friend. After working with Peter to help raise two wonderful children, her welcoming nature extended to their non-Greek spouses; Susan (Damian) Pagones and Stephen (Elaina) Rayburn to whom she expressed a mother's love and treated as if they were her genuine children and considered honorary Greeks. Penney took great joy from her involvement with The Greek Orthodox church. Over the years she was a valued member of the Philoptocos Society, lent her voice to the choir and spent hours each September manning the food line at the Greek festival. She always enjoyed traveling with Peter and visited casinos across the country from Las Vegas to Atlantic City. She had a talent for Greek cooking and Orthodox Easter will not be the same without her avgolemono soup that was a highlight of the holiday meal or the Easter eggs that acquired their distinctive red hue from her tireless efforts obtaining onion skins from the Price Chopper near her home. Her grandchildren (James, Kaelyn, Sophia, Clare and Sam) have fond memories of waking on their birthdays to hear their names called over the radio, and on more than one occasion, to win a cake from a local bakery. While birthdays were special, nothing says "yia yia" to the grandchildren quite like a personalized wish on their name day. Her proud smile was a constant presence at countless sporting events, dance and music recitals and awards ceremonies over the years. Despite her natural spirit of selfless giving, Penney had a mischievous side and was not above placing hexes on opponents in games of Yahtzee. It is also a poorly kept secret that her purse carried out more than its share of orange marmalade packets from local diners. She loved bunnies, the color yellow, the scent of lilacs and superstitious rituals like tossing pocket change on the floors of new cars to protect from accidents. Penney is also survived by her sister-in-law, Trudi (Brad) Hennmuth as well as beloved nieces and nephews (Thomas, Sophia, Evan, Jason and Randy). The family cannot imagine enduring this challenging time without the extraordinary attention and care provided by Damian's in-laws, Jeff and Kathy Uzzilia as well as the Albany Med ICU personnel, who through their sincere compassion, lessened the pain of what was a trying experience for all involved. Funeral services will be held at St. George's Greek Orthodox Church in Schenectady at 12 noon on Monday, February 26th and all who knew Penney are welcome. There will be a brief viewing at Daly Funeral Home from 11-11:30 am prior to the funeral. Interment Parkview Cemetery.