Billye Carolyn Penland, 93, of Wichita Falls, Texas passed peacefully on Saturday, December 7, 2024, surrounded by many loving members of her family.

Carolyn was born in Hebbronville, Texas, on September 17, 1931, the eldest of five children born to Naoma and Raymond Robbins. Carolyn grew up in the Texas Rio Grande valley and the Texas hill country where she attended high school in Sequin, Texas. She was a long-time resident of Wichita Falls (1956-1998), coming to this area with her husband, Richard E. Graves, to SAFB. She attended Midwestern University from 1960-62, studying accounting, and after marrying Buck Penland in 1962, she worked as a bookkeeper for her husband's plumbing company, Pen-To Service, for several years. Carolyn studied and became a licensed nursing home administrator working in Wichita Falls and Henrietta, Texas in the 1970's-1980's. In 1986, she owned/operated the first Senior Adult Day Care Center in the area, providing much needed services to disabled residents and their families.

Carolyn was a long-time, active member of Grant Street United Methodist Church in Wichita Falls and the Medina Community Church/United Methodist in Medina, Texas,  most recently attending Wesley United Methodist Church in Wichita Falls. She was dedicated to her service in the church, working in the Emmaus Walk and Kairos Prison Ministry for many years. She was continuously active in United Methodist Women and served as the south Texas Regional President. She continued her service in recent years by organizing and cooking for the monthly senior lunches outreach program in the Medina, Texas area. Carolyn's heart was always in the hill country, and after retiring, she returned there to live in Kerrville, Texas. She resided there from 1998 to 2022 when she returned to Wichita Falls to be near her children.

Carolyn had an artist's eye for light, shadow, and hue, which she used to paint landscapes of her much loved hill country. She always wanted to keep her hands busy with painting, needlework, embroidery, knitting, and crochet and gifted friends and family with her work. Carolyn played the piano for comfort and pleasure, and she especially treasured fond memories of sing-alongs with family gathered around the piano. She loved to cook and collect recipes and often rose early to make pies or breads to share with neighbors and friends. Playing board games was another favored activity, as all her grandchildren will remember, and she could beat almost anyone at Scrabble – she was sharp as a tack to her last days. Carolyn loved all her family above all else. It was her joy to organize and host several large family reunions during her years in Kerrville and family came from around the country creating wonderful memories for all. She was a deeply loved daughter, sister, niece, cousin, wife, Mom, Mam-Ma, Grandma, GG, Aunt Carolyn and friend.

Carolyn is survived by her three daughters and three step-daughters and their families: Elizabeth Ann Barr of Colorado Springs and grandchildren Toni and Stephen; Naoma Ruth Clark and husband Robert Clark of Wichita Falls and grandchildren Bret, Kachina, and Lindsay; Marian Alice Snyder and husband Mark Snyder of Wichita Falls and grandchildren Paul and Aaron Bowling; and step-daughters, Barbara Tuggle, Belinda Dunaway, and Marsha Brewer and husband, Larry Brewer, and grandchildren, Larriann, Craig, and Carrie. Her great grandchildren include Marian, Jackson, Drake, and great-great grandson, William. Additionally, Carolyn is remembered by her beloved cousin, Linda, who Carolyn loved and claimed as her sister, and her dearest brothers-in-law Richard Mitchell and Lowell Bynum, and sister-in-law Yvonne Robbins, and many treasured nieces, nephews.

Carolyn's wish was to publically acknowledge deeply loved family members over her long life that have preceded her in death in order to honor and witness her family's journey and to also remind us of the joyous family reunion she is having with each of them: her husband, Richard E. Graves (1960) and second husband, Buck Penland (1987), grandparents Robert Lee and Caroline French, William Ezra (Poppa) and Sarah Jane Robbins, and her parents, Naoma Gladys and Raymond Clifton Robbins, her brothers Clifton M. Robbins and wife, Ann Robbins, Bobby Ray Robbins and his wife, Jane Robbins, her sisters Martha G. Mitchell and her first husband, Lt. Col. Paul E. Leary II, and their daughter Cynthia Lynn, and Barbara Jane (Janey) Bynum, and grandchildren Angela Brewer, Amy Snyder, and Quinn Scholes. There are numerous aunts, uncles, and cousins from the Robbins and French families she held in her heart and specifically honors Frances and Irving Flash, her cousin Larry Flash, Hazel and 'Shorty' Newman, her cousin Elwood Newman, and Preston and Jerri Robbins.

The family wishes to extend their deepest gratitude to the nurses that cared for Carolyn these past couple of months, especially Hospice of Wichita Falls and Healing Hands Healthcare.

A Christian Service will be held at Lunn's Colonial Funeral Home, 2812 Midwestern Parkway at 11:00am Monday, December 16, 2024, with burial following at Hampton Vaughn Crestview Memorial Park, 1917 Archer City Hwy in Wichita Falls, Texas. Visitation will be held from 10:00am to 11:00am prior to the service.

The family asks that any charitable memorials for Carolyn be made to Hospice of Wichita Falls, Meals on Wheels of Wichita Falls, or Wesley United Methodist Church in Wichita Falls.