Spectrum - Volume 21 Issue 06 October 1, 1998 - Grady Pennington, 47

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Grady Pennington, 47

Spectrum Volume 21 Issue 06 - October 1, 1998

Grady Pennington, a grounds leadworker in charge of all the flowerbeds on campus, died Tuesday, Sept. 22. He was 47.
Gerald Dobbs, landscape supervisor, said Pennington will not be easily replaced. "I feel like Robert E. Lee did when he heard about Stonewall Jackson's death, `I lost my right arm,'" Dobbs said, quoting Lee.
He said Pennington loved Virginia Tech and his every endeavor was a labor of love. He took initiative to learn all he could and keep the flower beds in their perpetual state of beauty. He also did whatever was needed, including walking to work from the Ellett Valley in knee-deep snow to report for snow duty, Dobbs said.
Recycling Coordinator Larry Bechtel praised Pennington for his dedication and commitment to the university and his job. Bechtel said Pennington was a man who not only gave instructions, but was always working himself. He said Pennington paid great attention to every task, even coming in on weekends just to tidy up or get a little more work done.