NOTE: In respect of my loved ones & my request, Please, no Halloween tokens/notes. Flowers & scenes are very welcome. Thank U kindly. ~ Mom of T.L.T.


@};- I want to thank all who stop & visit Juanita. She's a very precious family member of mine, that changed her life & her heart for the better. Your visits mean a lot & I appreciate it more than you'll ever know. U are all precious to me as well. May God Bless U & your loved ones always.

Born on a Tuesday, died on a Monday. AGE: 62 yrs., 5 mo. & 6 days. On Fri., 3-29-2052/Leap Year, she will be deceased the exact, same amount of time as she lived.

She was the 2nd of 5 siblings & the youngest of two daughters, born in the home of her parents, Corbin Estel Pennington & Mary "EMMA"line (KISER), Pennington. The family nicknamed her, "Nina" (pronounced, Neena.) On Fri., 4-13-1945, at the age of 17, she married 24-yr. old, Verna Hale "Joe" Crooke in Newport, (Campbell County), Kentucky. In this marriage, two children were born. After ten years of marriage, Juanita & Joe separated, never to see each other again & they never divorced from one another. She was married to Joe, 44 yrs., 6 mo. & 10 days upon her Angel Day.
Juanita was a victim of mental & physical abuse from Joe, before & during their marriage. She suffered broken bones, burns & beatings that permanently crippled her for life. Since her birth, she battled from being over-weight. Just prior of their separation, they both turned to alcohol & drugs. Juanita, to try & cover the pain & agony she went through. As a result, they permanently lost custody of the two children. However, the children were both adopted by relatives on Juanita's side of the family.

She worked as a waitress, then working in her mother's Sewing Shop business as a seamstress. She had quite a talent for it. Still battling her addictions, she left for Chicago, Illinois. She had a job as an assistant manager of a hotel there. After three years, she became homesick & came back home & lived with her parents for about the next seven years, in which that time, she became clean of all her addictions & gained enough confidence to get out on her own again,..but this time, totally alone. It was her time to be at peace with herself & peace with GOD. She loved when her family visited. The two children she gave birth to, both loved her & only seeing her as their birth mother. She was never denied her three grandchildren from her biological daughter & also spent what time she could with her two great-grandchildren as well. Her biological son moved on to Michigan with his adoptive parents. He would drive down & visit her occasionally.

Juanita was a blessing to the family many times over when she got her life together. It was a long & difficult battle for her, but she was very persistent & she never gave up. We all did a lot of praying & she turned her life over to GOD. Everyone got along as time went on. At first it was real rough, then everyone became at peace with one another. Juanita was an Avon Representative for about five years & it was a family project that they all enjoyed. She loved to decorate her apartment, make jewelry as a hobby, reading detective books, mysteries & paranormal activity. Her favorite color was Red. She loved to cook & a good one she was. In the back of her mind, she said she always wanted to be in the police academy but never pursued it. She was preceded in death by her Dad, Corbin Estel Pennington Sr., 2 brothers - David Lee & Corbin Jr., a niece, two nephews, her biological son-in-law, 2 grandsons, a great niece, a sister-n-law that was married to her youngest brother, Corbin Jr., for 20 years, numerous aunts & uncles. Survivors at the time of her passing were: Her Mother, Mrs. Emma K. Pennington, two siblings: Beatrice Marie (Pennington), Jervis & Donald Eugene Pennington, four Grandchildren, two Great Grand children, four nieces, & both of her biological children.

Her health deteriorated to the point, she became bed-fast in the last ten years of her life. She refused to be in a nursing home. She had a loving family to come over & help her, a nurse that visited her weekly, plus an aid from the county social services. About four days prior to her passing away, she felt abnormally ill. She was taken by ambulance to the local hospital & placed in I.C.U. where she later died from acute myocardial infarction from coronary heart disease. She is sadly missed & very much loved by her family & friends. ~

@};- Thank You GOD, for allowing us to have her as long as You did.

~ Juanita's husband, Verna Hale "Joe" Crooke, passed away in Harrisburg, (Saline County), Illinois on Sunday, April 21, 2002. Age: 81 yrs., 1 mo. & 27 days.