Nancy Joanne Penland

Nancy Penland, a long-time resident of Lubbock, Texas, passed away on January 25th, 2026, at the age of 73. She passed, at home, surrounded by loved ones on an uncharacteristically snowy day, similar to the ones, from her childhood.

Born in Chicago, Illinois to Mark and Anna Penland, Nancy lived throughout the Chicagoland area before becoming a Texan. She often reminisced of eating Italian beef sandwiches at Man-Jo-Vin’s, braving Chicago's frigid temperatures, and acting as forced labor in her father's many businesses. After high school, her family made the decision to uproot from the lively Windy City and move to the much less lively windy city of Amarillo, Texas.

In Amarillo, Nancy worked with her family to buy a house and begin their lives somewhere they knew no one. Her hard work enabled her to work in a variety of difficult roles in Texas, including the Levi Strauss factory and Iowa Beef Processors. She often bragged to her sons how she could carry 20 pairs of jeans or a slab of beef on her shoulders when she was young. After hitting a train with her car (not a misprint), she met the man that was not from her dreams. Fortunately, she was able to have four sons with that man, justifying the marriage. Nancy studied Laser Technology at Texas State Technical Institute and later moved to Los Angeles, California to work at Hughes Aircraft. Following her joyous divorce, Nancy resettled her family back in Amarillo, where all of her sons finished their education.

While in Amarillo, Nancy began working in independent living centers to help people with disabilities live independently and with dignity. True to her work ethic, Nancy started as a volunteer and spent the next 30 years doing every facet of work, all the way to Director of Programs at Life/Run Center for Independent Living in Lubbock.

Throughout her career, she assisted countless people to live on their own, when they wouldn’t be able to otherwise. Her no-nonsense approach of advising Life/Run consumers showed her compassion to help while being direct and to the point.

Nancy was a consummate autodidact, especially in the humanities. Her affinity for Irish music had Tommy Makem and the Clancy Brothers playing throughout the house. A life-long reader, she often tried to convince people to play Authors with her, though she was rarely successful. Her ability to recall classical books she read, operas she had memorized, and other bits of esoterica, did not help her popularity with her grandchildren, but her warmth with them more than made up for that.

After moving to Lubbock, Nancy was able to fulfill one of her life goals - to purchase and remodel a home exactly how she wanted. Decorating the house to match her quirks and personality was one of her crowning achievements. The house will remain within the family and will be an ever-present reminder of who she was as a person and her fierce spirit.

She is survived by her longtime partner, Bobby Coleman; her sister, Marilyn Todd and her brother Mark Penland; her sons, Josef Nguyen and his wife Jennifer, Andrew Nguyen, Patrick Nguyen and his wife Elena, and Daniel Nguyen and his wife Brieanne; and her cherished grandchildren, Victor, Anthony, Noah, Evan, Eleanor, Charlotte and Lillian; and her dogs, Lucy and Ricky.

Nancy’s legacy lives on in the lives of the four, sons she raised by herself, her sense of humor, and her well-known particularities.

A private family memorial service is being held in her honor.