MARY CATHERINE PENDERED
Died Aug. 18, 2008
GREENVILLE -- Mary Catherine Dodge Mack Pendered, 90, died Monday in the embrace of her children.
A celebration of Mrs. Pendered's life is set for Friday at 2 p.m. in Brown Chapel at Cypress Glen Retirement Community, 100 Hickory St., Greenville.
Mrs. Pendered represented her generation of the American Spirit. She maintained an interest in the arts and cultural affairs of the United States, Russia and China. She was fascinated by China's preparation for the Beijing Olympic Games and the country's water management policies to serve the Games. On observing Mrs. Pendered's passing, her sister, Betty Raup, of Glen Burnie, Md., said it was "not nice" of her sister to pass before having to pick a candidate to support in the presidential election. The two spoke several times a day on the phone.
Mrs. Pendered had two master's degrees, one in secondary education from Penn State University and one in library science from East Carolina University. She had a bachelor's degree from her beloved Susquehanna Uni-versity, in Selinsgrove, Pa., where she lettered in tennis, played on the intramural field hockey team and was a member of Omega Delta Sigma sorority.
Mrs. Pendered waged a valiant, though unsuccessful, effort to pass a love of tennis to her daughter, Jean P. Hollowell, an attorney in Goldsboro. Mrs. Pendered enjoyed college athletics, especially football and basketball, and kept a special place in her heart for Penn State football -- though she had decided it was time for Coach Joe Paterno to take an honorary position.
Travel was a passion, whether to Bath for a picnic or Russia for a cultural tour. Major trips included cruises with her son and daughter through the Caribbean Sea to celebrate her 80th and 85th birthdays; trips to Germany and Bermuda with her daughter; a tour of Russia with friend Terry Shank of Greenville; many car trips with friend Bernice Moseby of Greenville; and visits to countries including Mexico, Spain, England and Morocco with her husband, the late Dr. Norman C. Pendered.
A story about her 85th birthday cruise was published in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and several newspapers around the country. The story was written by her son, David Pendered, a reporter with the AJC.
In the 1970s and 1980s, Mrs. Pendered spent many summer days driving to remote coastal communities to rescue her husband and son from their mishaps while sailing on the family's 22-foot sailboat. She baked countless cookies and prepared more than a few picnics to enhance her family's enjoyment of boating, although she herself stepped on a boat only once a year -- to celebrate her son's birthday.
In Greenville, Mrs. Pendered worked with adult literacy programs, social service agencies, various groups at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church and as a poll worker during elections. She served as a substitute teacher at several local public schools and was a member of a local book club. She held season tickets to various cultural programs at East Carolina and established and maintained funds at ECU in the name of her husband to support academic scholarships and library acquisitions.
Mrs. Pendered married Norman Cressy Pendered on Dec. 16, 1944, in Geisetown Lutheran Chapel in Geise-town, Pa. At the time of their wedding, both were teaching in Sunbury, Pa. The Pendered family moved in 1970 to Greenville from State Col-lege, Pa.
In addition to her children, Mrs. Pendered is remembered by her sister, numerous nephews and nieces, and many friends at Cypress Glen. Memorial contributions may be made to the Women's Athletic Program at Susque-hanna University, 514 Uni-versity Ave., Selinsgrove, Pa., 17870.
Arrangements are being handled by Wilkerson Funeral Home and Crematory, Greenville.
(Pd)
Published in Obituaries on August 24, 2008 1:07 PM