Gregory Keith Penrose

June 28, 1956 - January 18, 2021

In Memory Of *~ Gregory Keith Penrose ~* June 28, 1956 - January 18, 2021 Our beloved husband, pappa, & son passed away too soon on January 18th, 2021. Greg was born on June 28, 1956 to Shirley and Russell Penrose. He spent most of his teenage years growing up in Midvale, Utah. Attended the University of Utah and served an LDS mission to Thailand, which he always said was one of his greatest experiences ever. He continually showed his respect to to their culture by making exquisite Thai food dishes over the years. Married Caroline Wiman in 1982, they were married for almost 39 years, they were blessed with 4 children. Erik, Olivia, Jason, & Julia. Greg excelled and loved most sports especially golf, and wrestling (which he went to the state championships of high school), and a very skilled at bowling. He also spent many years playing chess with the Sandy Senior Center patrons, where he was also involved in current events and free thinkers discussions. He was a long time fan of the Chicago Bears and their 3 most prominent stars, Walter Payton, Gayle Sayers and especially #51 himself, Dick Butkus. He was a Senior Buyer for Hercules & Alliant Tech for over 30 + years and was very well respected amongst his colleagues. In concern of the pandemic there will be no visitation or funeral. A family gathering will be held at a later time to remember his life. Greg is survived by his wife Caroline, his children Erik, Jason and Julia, along with his parents Russell & Shirley, brothers Kevan (Sidney), Ron (Leslie), sister Sherrie Hawkes (Cody), and sister in law Sheri Penrose (David) along with his brother in law Ulf Wiman. He was preceeded in death by his daughter Olivia, brother David and baby sisters Pamela, Debera, Denise, and uncle Doug. As a family we have decided to all write some fantastic honorable memories of Greg Penrose also known as our "Pappa." "Greg, goodbye my love, we certainly had our ups and downs over the years, yet despite that we raised 3 determined kids. I will never forget our great discussions, ranging from politics, religion and all the conspiracy theories, and the overall spectrum & gambit of life. You had a very fun and sarcastic personality. I hope you have finally found some ultimate peace. I love you always and forever until the stars burn out and beyond." - Love Mamma - "Vart jag mig i världen vänder står min lycka i Guds händer. Where do I start, we were so very much alike and yet so different at the same time man. I rememeber, do you remember? I remember watching Tiger Woods knock in a hole in one on LIVE tv during the 1997 Phoenix Open and your reaction! I remember watching the man known as the, "king of the streets" in the original caged fighting matches before MMA was established. I remember the Jazz vs the Bulls back to back 97' / 98' repeat, and how angered you would get when John Stockton would make a lousy lazy pass or how dismal the Jazz would be playing how much emotion you would show, you really would get into the game. How fun it was playing hide and go seek around the house with all the lights off and a few candles sparsley lit throughout the house, you would yell these scary words at us sneaking around the house while we hid or I would sacrfice Jason from the closet to go find you, (which to this day I believe were Thailand boogeyman words BUNJAAH!) I will never forget hearing the majestic voice of Jim Morrison and Riders on the Storm for the first time as I walked into the basement while you were dancing in the dark after a few drinks, dancing away the cruelty of the 9 to 5 workshift with the neon orange glow of the stereo receiver screen casting faintly across the room. Man those camping trips during the 1990's and early 2000's at Strawberry Resevoir were absolutely incredible and memorable to say the least. I'll always hold and cherish those memories along with the not so good memory of surviving the 4 wheeler accident with Morfar, Jason, you and I, that could have easily taken all our lives while trying to gun it up some Mount Everest hill clearly not meant for an ATV. Personally I want to thank you several times over for supporting my Trial against Evil in 2016, where you stood by my side for just about 13 hours, only to find out that goodness and freedom would ultimately prevail in the end. Which we both deep down knew how badly I deserved that outcome. Oddly enough I do take after you by going to the library and looking for obscure documentaries to take home and watch to continue furthering my knowledge. Of all the bizarre foreign films you would check out and bring home from the library that all of us children would dread watching, occasionally you would bring home some pure comedy family favorites. One such movie is the Pink Panther featuring Peter Sellars. When Peter Sellars would re enact the fighting scenes with Kato, or the scene dressed as a Swedish sailor with a peg leg, the laughter would rock our entire household all night long. Another all time favorite that brought tears of joy to our eyes watching was the movie Bowfinger featuring Steve Martin & Eddie Murphy. Some of those scenes will never be re created and those memories can never be re created either. Tutoring and teaching me the fundamentals of golfing at a very young age, even though at the time I found golf to be the most boring thing on the planet while you treated it as a phenom amongst men, I can say I sincerely appreciate that today. A one of a kind incredible bowler, that curve ball you had was a thing of pure beauty and one day I vow to champion the same curve with the same finesse. Town & Country bowling lanes along with the Junction Bowling Lanes right off State Street was a Sunday morning past time for our family for several years and I will honor those memories. You were always a phenomenal chess player and I am grateful for your chess lessons at such a young age and lecturing me on the chessmasters Bobby Fischer & Garry Kasparov. (I'm playing chess while you're playing checkers.) I've learned alot about the business world and how to be aggressive and bold while navigating through any business negotiations while spectating you. Sometimes you could be a bit ruthless while coupon-ing but I undestood the value of money immediately at a young age, I think all of us children did. Another thing I'll always sincerely appreciate about you was how involved you were with me playing basketball at such a young age and helping me develop my dominant skills while always rooting for me to destroy my opponent in more ways than one. Something we always connected on was sports and admiring the athletic ability of NBA players especially. You used to watch the neighborhood kids and I play basketball games to 100 points for hours on end until the twilight hours. I'll never forget our discussions on the New York Knicks and you telling me that John Starks could jump like a gazelle! LOL. Thank you for showing me who Abbot & Costello were, along with Laurel & Hardy. I haven't laughed so hard in my life with all of us gathered around for a weekend night movie, those will always be warm memories in my heart. It's too bad we never got to fully mend our bizarre love hate relationship for one another, but just know that I forgive you and I forgive myself, and I need you more than ever to guide me righteously from the other side. I know you deep down always wanted the best for all your children despite showing it in some very weird ways, it was that tough love that has molded me into a realistic see through the veil type of an individual. I love you Pappa. I will always remember you and your words of wisdom! Au revoir to the West Indies King! Peace be with you." - Erik Penrose - "He was a great golfer and bowler and was always willing to help with fixtures around the house. Whenever something went wrong at his parents (grandma & grandpa) he was always their in a split second to help them by any means necessary. He will be missed deeply by his entire family. He will now be able see his grandpa Richard and brother David catching a game of classic chess, a relaxing day out on the grassy greens of the golf course and a nice late afternoon of fishing." - Jason Penrose - "Some of the best memories with my dad was when we'd set up the Badminton net in our backyard and play for hours or head over to the park and play tennis well into the night, He always enjoyed being on the move, playing sports outside, and exploring Utah. He often joked around and would do funny voices. I adopted all these personality traits from him and are some of the ones I appreciated the most." - Julia Penrose - "Memories of Greg: My younger brother Greg was born over a year after I was and we did everything together. We usually slept in the same room. I remember all those Christmas mornings when we would sneak quietly into the front room to see what Santa brought. We didn't want to wake mom and dad so we left the lights off and would stare at the dark packages from just a few inches away. Before long we would not be able to control our excitement and the whole family would get up. We always had a wonderful time and it was so exciting to see Grandpa and Grandma Ancell come through the door. We spent endless hours together playing marbles, putting puzzles together, playing games like monopoly, stratego and risk. Dad taught us how to play chess and we played hundreds of games with each other or with dad. Dad would allow us to take back moves when he could see that we had made a mistake and explain why it was not a good move. When we were both going to Hillcrest High School we found out there was a state high school chess tournament. We were able to get into the tournament. In the end Greg took seventh place and i took thirteenth. It was a lot of fun and we were surprised when we went back to school that they announced our places over the loud speaker. Greg was a good wrestler at Hillcrest and I enjoyed watching him. Dad wrestled when he was young and Greg picked up on it. We used to wrestle at home but I was not as good at it as he was. I remember that he used to wear all kinds of heavy clothing or have someone roll him up in a wrestling mat to sweat off a pound or so in order to make weight. He heard about making an energy drink with raw eggs and he would drink it all the time. He led the way for our younger brother, David to take up the sport and he was also very good at it. We played pickup baseball, football, church softball and basketball, tennis and golf. Greg loved golf and made it life long favorite activity. I enjoyed playing with him and our two brothers, Ron and Dave. We liked to sleep out in the yard during the summers and often would spend an hour or so with our neigthborhood friends "toilet papering" someones yard. We liked to ride our bikes down to the Jordan River in the summer and fish for hours. Going deer hunting with dad and Grandpa Penrose was also a great time. My favorite memory or Greg has to be when Greg was close to leaving on his mission to Thailand and I was close to getting married. He asked me if I could go in on a special Christmas gift for mom. We had been in charge of doing the dishes over the past several years and he had the idea of getting her an automatic dishwasher. It was a great idea and we were so excited for mom to see it. On Christmas morning mom came down the stairs and Greg and I were waiting to see her reaction. When mom pulled off the wrapping paper she let out a joyful scream and started jumping up and down while clapping her hands together. Then she put her hands on her face and started dancing around the room. I will never forget the feeling of knowing that we had done something that brought mom such joy. I miss you bro." - Kevan Penrose - "Greg, I miss you more than words can express. I hope you are happy and at peace where you are and life's struggles are behind you. I miss your warmth and amazing humor. I so wanted to all kind of fun things together in retirement. You left way too soon. I think of you and Dave several times daily. I pray you are together doing fun things. Who is going to continue to provide golf lessons? You taught me how to golf and I was always in awe how you made it look so easy. Same thing with bowling. What an amazing curve ball! I believe I had you converted to my beloved Packers? Brother, know of the deep love I have for you and how my heart aches for you and Dave. I pray for our Saviors love and understanding. I look forward to be with you all someday. Please look down upon Caroline, Erik, Julia, Jason and my family when you get a chance and hope that we make you proud. Much Love." - Ronald Penrose - "Thank you, Greg, for all the times you read stories to me when I was a little girl. Thank you for the great advice you gave me when I was leaving on my mission. Thank you for all the times you made me laugh over the funny things you said and did. I will miss spending time with you, God be with you till' we meet again! Love you." - Sherrie Hawkes - "My brother Doug had a good looking convertible and would take the boys fo a ride in it a few times. Greg loved it and begged us to buy a convertible, he wanted me to call Doug everyday to come and take him for a ride! Russ and I are so grateul for all the wonderful things Greg did for us throughout the years. If we had a problem with plumbing or anything else, he would come right over to help us. We loved Greg with all our hearts and feel so mad that he was called on to the other side. We are so grateful for the plan of salvation and for our saviors love." - Grandma Shirley Penrose - "I remember a man who teary-eyed showed the videos of his three kids. This was his way of showing how much they meant to him. He was distraught that no one wanted to see the videos. I decided to watch them with him. Perfection can only be understood by experiencing imperfection. This imperfection is a moment's moment of perfection, the person that all of us really are. The man unable to connect but through the videos of his kids, he forever changed another man about the totality of his family." - Ulf R. Wiman - "My memories of Greg center on times spent at family gatherings and get-togethers. Greg drew you in when he would tell a funny story from his youth or reminisce about memories about his upbringing with siblings. His eyes would light up during these moments as he would frequently punctuate his stories with good-natured humor or a little teasing. Those attributes were something that he had in common with Dave. I have countless memories of us bumping into Greg over at Mom and Dad's home where he was helping out with whatever issue was at hand whether it was plumbing issues, car issues, the yard, sprinkler problems.... I recall Dave commenting that Greg did more than anyone to help his parents. I often had the feeling that Greg felt frustrated that he couldn't do more - I wish he could have recognized more clearly all the good that he did do. When Dave passed away, I felt his devastation right along with our own. During this time, Greg frequently shared his feelings about the great admiration and love he had for his dear brother. He and Caroline have done so many thoughtful things to ease our pain and help us through these traumatic years. Not long after Dave passed away, they brought over a smorgasbord of delicious food from the country where Greg served his mission. They frequently left cards, encouraging notes to our family and flowers at the gravesite. They brought over games and passes to Boondocks for our sons - doing whatever they could to help. Greg always had a welcoming smile and caring way toward each member of our family and after our gatherings we always felt happy that our families had spent time together. Greg had his struggles. But, I believe that, at his core, Greg's nature was to do good and be good. It seems as though his physical struggles were at war against his spiritual nature. I pray that he's finding peace and joy as he's reunited with loved ones. I know that Greg loved his family dearly and I'm grateful for the good that he brought into our lives and into the world." -Sheri Penrose -