Bobby Ray Penland, Sr.

BOBBY RAY PENLAND, SR. Arden ~ Bobby Ray Penland, Sr., 72, of Arden, died Tuesday, June 12, 2007 at his residence. A native of Buncombe County, he was a son of the late Edd and Clora Morgan Penland. He was also preceded in death by two brothers, Bill Penland and Carroll Penland. Mr. Penland proudly served his country as a member of the United States Navy. He is survived by his wife of 19 years, Erma Lance Penland; two daughters, Barbara Hipps of Myrtle Beach, SC and Kimberly Penland of Greenville, SC; three sons, Bobby Penland, Jr. of Fletcher, Mike Penland of Asheville, Larry Penland of Monroe, NC; one step-son, Stephen Ballard of Arden; a sister, Margaret Hensley of Candler; 5 grandchildren, one great-granddaughter, and several nieces and nephews. A funeral service will be held at 11:00 am Friday, June 15th , in the chapel of Groce Funeral Home at Lake Julian and will be officiated by Revs. Steve Rhinehart and Bob Hagan. Serving as honorary pallbearers will be Paul Pappas, Roy “Lefty” Jackson, B. Edwin “Sonny” Gaston and John Iannucci. Interment will follow at Ashelawn Gardens of Memory. The family will receive friends from 6 to 8:00 pm Thursday at the funeral home. The family wishes to express their love and gratitude to the staff of Carepartners Mountian Area Hospice; Dr. Marianne Sofous, Pete Lynch, Crislyn Prestia and Mitch Pruitt. Bobby’s family wishes that in lieu of flowers, memorials be made to Carepartners Mtn. Area Hospice at P.O. Box 5779 Asheville, NC 28813.