Loretta Lou Penrod, 84, of Anacortes, WA, passed away peacefully and courageously on Saturday, January 23, 2016, at her home surrounded by family, after a short battle with cancer. She was born to Edward and Antoinette (LaChance) Keithahn at St. Ann's Hospital in Juneau, AK. She joined her older sister, Bonnie in Kake, AK a week later and spent the next ten years in the villages of Kake, Hydaburg and Wrangell, and her brother Dick was born in 1933. In 1941, the family moved to Juneau where Mr. Keithahn was made curator of the Historical Library and Museum. Loretta graduated from Juneau High School in 1948 and received a B.A. in Fine Arts from Washington State College in 1955. Following graduation, she married Jack Penrod of Juneau. They spent the next 48 years together enjoying life on the Fritz Cove Road in Juneau with work related stints in Washington D.C. and in Saipan in Micronesia. They retired to Salem, OR before settling in Anacortes in 1996. Loretta had a career in Personnel with the State of Alaska and was active in the arts wherever she lived. Watercolors and batik fed her spirit in Alaska. In Oregon, she discovered the joy of calligraphy with Rainwriters in the Skagit Valley. Etching and basket weaving and small sculptures were woven throughout her life. The pure joy of doing it was her reward. Friendships made through Rainwriters and the local Critique Group was special and undying. Loretta was preceded in death by her parents and husband of 48 years. She is survived by her sister Bonnie of Spokane, and brother Dick of Port Ludlow, good friend and partner James M. Tripp; nieces and nephews in Washington, Oregon and Alaska. Remembrances in Loretta's name may be made to the Merle Cancer Center at Island Hospital in Anacortes, WA. Arrangements are in the care of Evans Funeral Chapel and Crematory, Inc., Anacortes, WA and the San Juan Islands.
(Published in Skagit Valley Herald Publishing Company on Jan. 31, 2016)