A Tribute to Penny Massie 

Penny Massie, a beloved member of DGHS, made her transition on

May 1, 2011 after a long battle with cancer.  Penny has been a very active member of the Dayton Ghost Hunters Society, serving not only as a paranormal investigator but also as Investigative Coordinator, Historian and Chairperson of our Cemetery Restoration project.  Penny will be greatly missed not only as a member but also as a good friend.

Although Penny’s career was education, her greatest teaching role took place outside of the classroom.  Over the past years, Penny taught us all many things:  how to love and be loved, the importance of not giving up no matter what the odds, the meaning of courage, how to be a true friend.

There is a song that epitomizes Penny’s life and every time I hear the lyrics, I think about her….”Do all you can, with what you have, in the time you have, in the place you are….Do all you can.” 

Penny devoted her life to helping make the world a better place.  Whether it was teaching children, coaching cheerleaders, coordinating investigations or raising money for the cats at Tenth Life, she put everything she had into it.  In our group, I knew if Penny said she was going to do something, she would do it and do it right.  We all had absolute faith in her and her abilities.

Many times over this past year, I have heard people say how much they respected her.  This respect was twofold:  for the way Penny approached everything she did and honored her commitments and secondly for the courage and determination she showed in the face of adversity.

“Do all you can, with what you have, in the time you have, in the place you are….Do all you can”

When others would have given into the pain, Penny found the strength to keep going and in doing so, inspired others.  Penny, in her quiet way with her sweet smile, and her strong faith knew how to live life to its fullest.  Like a bird with a broken feather that has now been healed, Penny now sings a new song and is free to fly, free from pain and surrounded by love.

Penny will be forever in our hearts and she leaves us all with a wonderful legacy and a challenge.  In honor of Penny, I hope we all try to do all WE can, with what we have, in the time we have, in the place we are.  Let’s do all we can.

Robin

DGHS President

 Early Morning Mist / Dougles Blue Feather