... never quit.
Dianna Penny
Dianna Penny has lived a life of ups and downs.
She grew up, in her words, "black and poor" in central and southern Illinois, following her minister father, the Rev. Fred L. Penny, from church assignment to church assignment.
In each of those stops, she learned to raise chickens, a skill needed to survive in a poor, rural environment. In Alton, Ill., she and her growing family lived above a men's clothing store.
Despite the poverty, she said she never gave up pursuing something more.
"I think the biggest thing is never quit," said Penny, now 67 and living in Iowa City. "We were black and poor. But our day-to-day lives were different. We had full, wonderful lives."
Penny, who now is a secretary at the University of Iowa's cardiovascular center and a prominent member of Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Iowa City, said she learned how to kill and cook a chicken by the time she was 9. While living in Alton, Ill., her father hunted, bringing home meat.
The only entertainment in the house was an old radio, through which Penny and her siblings developed a passion for music, including opera and jazz.
"I was exposed to every type of music," Penny said. "Life was so rich in other ways."
When the family home in Chester, Ill., burned down when she was 16 years old, she witnessed true generosity as the community rallied around the family, providing food and clothing. Her high school chorus director provided a new piano for her to replace the one lost in the fire.
"That was a miracle," Penny said. "It was just ordinary people putting on a class act. I said I'll never be afraid and I'll always have faith after experiencing that."
— Rob Daniel
