COLUMBIA – Paul Lee Penland, formerly of Lenoir NC, passed away peacefully on January 18th, 2017. Mr. Penland was born in Asheville, NC on December 26, 1925, the son of Charles Nelson and Bertha Mae Kitchens Penland.

He grew up in a large and loving family and was educated in the Buncombe County School system having graduated from the Plonk School of Creative Arts.

Mr. Penland served his country in the US Army from 1944 through 1946, serving at Ft. Bragg in Fayetteville, NC and various stations in the European Theater during World War II. Mr. Penland returned to Asheville where he married Velda Lenora Pressley on September 18, 1955. He later moved to Lenoir, NC in 1961 having begun a career with Southern Bell (BellSouth/AT&T). Upon his retirement he worked as an independent consulting engineer and later with his friend and confidant, R.L. "Rooster" Bush. All the while, Mr. Penland continued his long-term relationship as a volunteer and in various leadership roles with the Telephone Pioneers of America.

A devoted member for many years of First United Methodist Church of Lenoir, Mr. Penland volunteered and served there in numerous capacities, with a special fondness for the Men's Breakfast gatherings. Mr. Penland's family and friends will remember him as a man who never met a stranger, was slow to admonish and quick to forgive, and was a fiercely loyal friend to his numerous brothers and sisters.

Mr. Penland is survived by his wife, Velda, with whom he recently celebrated their sixty-first wedding anniversary; his brother, Garrett Eugene Penland of Asheville, his sister, Modena Penland Brown of Chattanooga, TN; his children and their spouses who include Deborah Penland Morrison and her husband, McDonald "Mack" Morrison, Jr. of Raleigh, NC, Michael Eugene Penland and his wife, Rebecca Duffie Penland of Columbia, SC, and Tracey Nelson Penland and his wife, Michele Picard Penland of Hereford, AZ. Mr. Penland is also survived by his five grandchildren, Sarah Katherine Morrison, Caroline Lansing Penland, Anna Pressley Penland, Lauren Nicole Penland and Haley Marie Penland; as well as numerous nieces and nephews. Mr. Penland was predeceased by his siblings, James, Johnny, Bill and Jackie Penland, Blanche Penland Pruett and Evelyn Penland Blau.

Mr. Penland's family is grateful for the love, care and devotion offered to him in his final years from the staff of Wildewood Downs Retirement Community and from the many kind and loving souls with RetireEase Senior Services.

A private family memorial service will be held with burial in Asheville, NC. The family will receive friends on Friday evening January 20th, at the home of Mike and Rebecca Penland from 5 pm to 7 pm. Shives Funeral Home, Trenholm Road Chapel, is assisting the family.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to: The First United Methodist Church of Lenoir, NC Building Fund, 309 Church St NW, Lenoir, NC 28645, or Hammond School, 854 Galway Lane, Columbia, SC 29209.