November 13, 1940 — September 26, 2021

Penelope Callaway Athon, 80, of Overland Park, Kan., former teacher, died Sunday, Sept. 26, 2021, at Olathe Hospice House.

Funeral services will take place at 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 13, 2021, at Covenant Presbyterian Church, 710 E. Yerby St, Marshall, with Jamie Callaway officiating. Burial will take place at Woodlawn Cemetery in Independence, Mo. Donations are suggested to the Covenant Presbyterian Church in Marshall.

Penelope was born Nov. 13, 1940, at St. Luke’s Hospital in Kansas City, Mo., to Willaim Stocking Callaway and Dorothy Brooks Callaway. She attended Border Star Elementary and graduated from Southwest High School, where she was active in Girl Scouts. Penelope received her teaching degree from Drury University in Springfield, Mo. There, she was a member and past president of the Alpha Phi fraternity. Penny was a Jewell Ball debutant in 1959, and a Bell of the American Royal (BOTAR) in 1962.

A life-long educator, she taught first grade in District 49, Shawnee Mission, Kan., from 1962-1966. She would later move to Marshall in Saline County, Mo. Penelope was a teacher in the Sweet Springs R-7 school district from 1966-1998, teaching a variety of grades and subjects. Her favorite memories included publishing the school newspaper, as well as producing 12 school plays over her tenure.

Penelope was a member of the Marshall chapter of the Missouri Writers Guild where she was a prolific writer of poetry and essays.
She is survived by her only son, Joe Athon and his wife, Melissa; her three grandchildren, Theodore, Eleanor and William; her sisters, Dorothy Callaway Rea and Mary Burns Miller; her nephew, Cal Rea; and her nieces, Jennifer Sklar, Megan Faircloth and Laura Burns.