Joan Hornback Penrose

On Saturday, October 17, 2026, Joan Hornback Penrose passed away at age 78.

She was a talented artist whose work reached galleries from St. Louis to New Orleans. She delighted everyone who knew her with her sketches; some serious and some whimsical, decorating everything from a gypsy vardo to suitcases that could never be mistaken for anyone else’s.

She was an avid musician, playing Chopin on piano, standards on guitar, and bluegrass on dulcimer, autoharp, and occasionally mandolin. Her music and her voice were beloved.

She earned a Master’s Degree in English Literature, receiving memberships to Phi Kappa Phi, Phi Alpha Theta, and Sigma Tau Delta, all while raising three children, something she rarely mentioned. She remained a lifelong lover of literature, studying the classics and often revisiting her well-worn copies of Dickens, Hardy, and Toole. Her children are grateful for the love of the written word that she shared with them.

She was a person of deep and abiding faith who could often be found reading and taking notes on her Bible. She loved horses, animals, nature, and hiking. In her later years, she became a CNA and spent her days helping ill and elderly clients. She was ever the humanitarian. She never lost her sense of humor nor her ability to destroy others at Scrabble or Upwords.

To those whose lives she touched most, she will be remembered as a kind friend; a cherished spouse; a loving sister, cousin, and aunt. To her three children, she will be remembered as the best mother they could ask for. In the words of her beloved grandchildren, Kami, Sarah, and Anna, she will forever be remembered as Sandwich Grandma, who shaped their childhood with imagination, fun, and love.

We three leave you with a small part of Mom’s farewell message to us: “May God bless and keep you in His care until we meet again.”

– Scott Blubaum, Andrea Booher, and Robert Dixon Crouch

If you wish to honor Joan’s memory, in lieu of flowers, we invite you to do so in a way that brings kindness or comfort to someone in need.

Condolences may be made online at www.schneiderfuneralhome.com