William A. Penn

William Albert “Bill” Penn died peacefully in his home in Austin on Friday, July 11, 2003. Bill was born on November 25, 1931 in Austin to Albert W. “Grip” Penn and Myrle Shelley Penn and spent most of his life here, attending Austin High School, the University of Texas, and UT Law School. At the University, Bill was active in many organizations, including Delta Tau Delta fraternity, the Cowboys Service Organization, and the UT Golf Team. After graduation he served in the army, worked as a trust officer for Austin National Bank and then as a financial advisor to E. G. Morrison. In 1988 he became the Executive Director for the Texas Golf Association. Bill’s keen competitive spirit caused him to strive for excellence in every endeavor, including writing poetry, fishing, cooking and most especially golf, a sport in which he embodied the qualities of integrity, honor and civility that attracted him to the game he began at the age of ten. His accomplishments in golf are many; the list of over twenty tournaments that he won begins in 1943 with the Dallas Junior Championship at the age of twelve and ends in 1995 with the Senior Division of the Bill Penn Cup, an annual mid-amateur tournament begun in his honor in 1994. One of his proudest achievements was playing on the UT Golf Team coached by Harvey Penick, which won the SWC Championship in 1950 and 1951 and the NCAA Semi-Finals in 1953. He was Austin City Champion four times, won the Firecracker Open in 1957, and was Texas Senior Champion in 1989. He captained the Texas team that won the U.S.G.A. State Championship in 1999. His long association with the Austin Country Club was marked by serving as President in 1973, being on the Greens Committee off and on for many years, and being awarded ACC Sportsman of the Year in 1999. As Executive Director, Bill took the Texas Golf Association from a small volunteer association to one that effectively and successfully promotes golf activities across the state. His illustrious career was capped by being named 2002 STPGA Amateur of the Year. Throughout his life Bill impressed his colleagues with his love of the game, expertise and knowledge of golf history, but his most fulfilling role was as a mentor to and champion of young “flatbelly” golfers who were interested in learning a game which, if played right, would instill a strong code of honor and ethics. In the 60’s he lobbied Austin officials for lower junior golf fees on public courses to make the game accessible to more young people. In 2002 he was honored with the creation by the TGA of the Bill Penn Grant to benefit junior golf in Texas. He was respected and dearly loved and will be sorely missed. He is survived by his daughters, Hilda Dianne Penn of Austin and Christa Penn Strauss and husband Hoch of Kingsbury; sisters, Julia Penn of Austin and Jane Penn of Wellesley, Massachusetts; niece, Rebecca Penn Winkler of Wellesley; grandsons, William August, John Napoleon and Philip Strauss of Kingsbury; many cousins and friends, and Joe Bob Purdy of Claudine, Texas. Honorary pallbearers are Roane Puett, George McCall, Sonny Rhodes, Bob Mickey, Brad Fowler, Jack Little, A.J. Triggs, and Tinsley Penick. The memorial service will be Wednesday, July 16th at 4:00 p.m. at Weed-Corley-Fish Funeral Home. Memorial donations can be made to the Bill Penn Grant in care of the Texas Golf Association, 2611 Cedar Springs Road, Dallas, TX 75201. Arrangements by Weed-Corley-Fish Funeral Home, 3125 N. Lamar Blvd., Austin, Texas 78705 (512) 452-8811. You may view memorials at www.wcfish.com