Geoffrey W. Pennington

Geoff was a loyal son of Michigan. Although he didn’t closely follow professional sports he had a ball cap for each of the Detroit teams: Tigers, Red Wings, Pistons and Lions. He was rarely out of the house without one of the caps to “assert his origins.” Another cap he often wore was from his service in the US Navy. He originally wanted to be a “Coastie,” a member of the US Coast Guard which he frequently observed from his hometown of Lakeport, Michigan. Unfortunately, Geoff was red/green color blind and was ineligible for the Coast Guard. He settled on the US Navy and became a Supply Corps officer. His first assignment was the flagship for the Seventh Fleet, the US Oklahoma City. He served there, getting a tour of many ports on the western Pacific, before being assigned to Washington, DC. It was in Washington, DC that he met his wife to be, Cathy, at the Catholic Young Adults Club. They hit it off and were married in November 1984. A few years later, Cathy declared that the house was too quiet so they went to Russia and adopted two boys, Steven and Alexander. Steven and Alex added a lot to Geoff’s life introducing him to youth soccer and tennis teams and rekindling his joy of Scouting. Geoff had many interests in his life. You were as likely to find him playing classical guitar as to find him studying one of several languages. His real love, however, was biking. As a young man, he rode across the United States in both directions: North to South and then West to East. In later years he noted he was glad he did it because otherwise he would never have believed he could. He continued to be an active cyclist to the end and was in training for a trip along the western side of Michigan. He had previously completed many century (100 mile) rides and the ODRAM, a 150 mile One Day Ride Across Michigan. He was a member of the Knights of Columbus, a volunteer at Velocity Bicycle Cooperative and an active member of St. Anthony Parish. Geoff will be missed by many; his time with us was too short. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Geoff's honor to VeloCity Bicycle Cooperative, www.Velocitycoop.org, 2111 Mount Vernon Avenue, Alexandria, VA 22301.

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Geoffrey W. Pennington

August 31, 1954 - June 7, 2019