Rex L. Pennick

He was preceded in passage by his Father, Lester J. Pennick, his mother, Charlotte Grimes, Sister, Donna Vausbinder, and his father-in-law Donald Rex Wayman. He is Survived by his loving wife of 54 years, Vickie M. Pennick (Wayman), Sister, Dee Lacatena, Daughter, Donya L. Brewer, Daughter, Shanda M. Montgomery, Son, Rex J. Pennick, Grandchildren Dylan and Brynn Brewer, and Katelin and Tristan Montgomery, one Great-grandchild, Cash Brewer, son-in-law, Brian Brewer, and his mother-in-law, Ida Marie Wayman.

He was born in Wichita, Kansas on October 26th, 1948. He met Vickie in Wichita, proposed on their first date and they married two weeks after. Enlisting at age 19, Rex served in the United States Navy, as his father had. He served as a Vietnam-era Medical Corpsman both with the Navy at Great Lake Naval Base and with the Marine Corp at Camp Pendleton.

Taking that medical training with him, he later excelled in selling medical supplies as he traveled all over the state of Kansas in all kinds of weather normally being on the road three days a week. He was a natural salesman breaking every record set and always giving his best. He did so by building relationships with people, which was always one of his joys in life, and relying on the value of what his product was and his deep honesty. Rex spent years running several businesses including hand building ranch carts for ranchers in Texas and other states. Later he moved into the car business as a sales Manager at new larger Volvo dealerships in Texas and Kansas. Vickie and he moved together to Kansas, Illinois, California, and Texas, but always considered Wichita both home and a hometown, returning at last to live there for over twenty years.

He had a love of sports, both watching and participating. Growing up he spent most of his time on the water, skiing up and down the Arkansas River in Wichita and as an adult owning several boats. He loved deep sea fishing and just being around the water. He enjoyed viewing all forms of track racing, even participating in street racing as a teen in Wichita, drag racing on a track and later having a NASCAR experience driving Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s car. He was a huge fan of the Kansas City Royals, living in San Diego where he enjoyed times at the Del Mar horse track with Vickie. For eight seasons one of his favorite pastimes was attending the Wichita State University Lady Shocker basketball team games. Rex enjoyed hours spent watching several favorite shows including season after season of Gold Rush.

He was an excellent self-taught mechanic, repairing many family cars both to save others money and simply because it was a deep passion for him. He had both the skills and the tools to fix almost anything. If he didn't have the tool, he would find it or make it. He owned a beautiful white Corvette and loved darting around Wichita in his two Pontiac Solstice convertibles after his retirement.

Above all, he loved time spent with family and many fur babies over the years. He was either with his many kids and grandchildren, or with his wife Vickie. Always holding hands as they celebrated their enduring love by enjoying simple times of morning coffee and evening glasses of wine, listening to country music, watching favorite shows, or just being together. He never asked for anything…but the love of his family, which is why we feel a loss so very great. As Vickie would say, that “she could not have found a man who was more hardworking, loving, caring and forgiving, generous and compassionate, witty and handsome, or was a better husband, father, grandfather or great grandfather, to spend her life with.”

Visitation will be held at 5 p.m., with services to be at 7 p.m., on Saturday, May 13th at Brookside Funeral Home, 9149 Hwy. 6 N., Houston.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to one of the two following charities:

Donate to The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research (michaeljfox.org)

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