Dee and Bill Pennybacker (front) surrounded by their children and grandchildren.

Honoring the family legacy

Mark and Gail Pennybacker honor their late parents with a gift that will impact generations to come.

Mark Pennybacker understood how much Baylor Scott & White meant to his parents, Bill and Dee Pennybacker. He approached his father with the idea of naming a room at Baylor Scott & White Medical Center – Brenham for them after their passing.

“When they were writing the final chapter of their life, I sat down with Dad and told him that [my sister] Gail and I would like to honor their lifetime of giving back to others by naming a room in the Emergency Department after them,” Mark said. “Dad thought about it for a minute and he said, ‘I don’t want it named after me; I want it named for the family: ‘Pennybacker Family.’”

“They are the most selfless people I know,” Gail Pennybacker remarked of her parents, who enjoyed a strong marriage and partnership for 70 years. To them, family didn’t just mean their own children, grandchildren and relatives but also the one they created in this world through their charitable actions. Bill and Dee, she said, found a sense of family through their charitable connections in every community they lived in throughout their lives.

Gail sees this gift to Baylor Scott & White as her parents’ final act of generosity—a way to show how much Bill and Dee cared about their community and about each patient who might come through that room.

“If the Pennybacker name means something to them, perhaps it will bring comfort,” she said. “If they don’t recognize the name, then they know the word ‘family.’ For us, family means support, comfort and love. That’s what I would hope they know: You will be cared for here, you will be supported here.”

Bill and Dee Pennybacker moved to Central Texas in 1986 after Bill’s retirement from the pipe and valve manufacturing business. Bill and Dee were involved with the healthcare system, both as patients and donors. Bill served for 16 years on the board of directors for what is now the Baylor Scott & White Central Texas Foundation – Brenham, helping drive critical improvements and expansions. When Bill retired from the board of directors, he encouraged Mark to join as a trustee.

Bill and Dee led the Pennybacker family in helping their children and grandchildren understand that a life well lived was one spent in service to others. “As Mark and I were growing up, we would participate in school clean-up days, donate blood, visit hospice centers and sing to people there,” Gail said. “In our family, it was all about ‘What are you going to do?’ because we were always going to serve.”

In his eulogy for Bill, Mark shared important life lessons and guiding principles from his father. “The three key points were to first take care of your family and job responsibilities and be an honorable person. The second was to take care of others in a meaningful way: You can give money, which is fine, but give of your time and talent as well as your treasure. And the third is to take care of yourself because you can’t do the first and second if you don’t do the third. Live a healthy lifestyle, stay in shape and see your doctor so that you can give back to others.”

Bill and Dee were partners in life and service to the very end and passed from this life just 30 days and three minutes apart. To honor their parents’ passion for ensuring their rural Texas community had access to quality care, Mark and Gail are pleased to continue their parent’s legacy and donate to Baylor Scott & White. “They left me with this overwhelming sense of gratitude,” Gail said of Bill and Dee.

The decision to honor their parents with a legacy gift to Baylor Scott & White Health is something that gives back for years. In that way, it also honors the way Bill and Dee approached service and philanthropy in their lifetime.

“A legacy gift like this is an infinite gift because it helps perpetuate something that will continue to help people for years and years,” Gail said, noting that her dad was an infinite thinker in everything he approached. “The aspect of investing in a community that your kids, grandkids and even perfect strangers will enjoy is important.”

When patients find themselves in need of help and hope in Exam Room #1 at Baylor Scott & White - Brenham, they will hopefully see themselves as part of the family whose name is right there on the door.