Lillian Pennell's 1942 Class Picture
Erskine Alumna Cultivates Inspiring
Attitude
Lillian Pennell, a member of the Erskine
College Class of 1942, has lived a "life of perseverance and
accomplishments" that "has been an inspiration to several
generations of people whose lives have also been tragically interrupted,"
said the Rev. R. Curtis Fussell, pastor of Hawfields Presbyterian
Church in Mebane, N.C., in a sermon delivered July 2 and published
in the Summer 2000 issue of Biblical Preaching Journal.
Fussell cited Pennell’s courageous
response to a car accident shortly after her graduation from college
that left her a quadriplegic, preaching on the subject, "An Interrupted
Life."
When her physical condition made teaching
high school science and math impossible, she did not give up, but
decided to pursue a career in what was then the new field of guidance
and counseling.
"After certification, Lillian
become the first and only employee of the Lexington Presbytery Vocational
Guidance Service. And in 1955 she became director for Career Counseling
for the Synod of Virginia," Fussell recalled, adding that Pennell
went on to earn the Doctor of Education degree.
The foundation of Pennell’s faith
was established long before her tragic "interruption" in
1942. Fussell explains that when Pennell was ten years old, her younger
sister was stung by a wasp and asked her mother whether God had created
wasps.
Pennell told The Record, a
quarterly magazine of Sunnyside Presbyterian Home where she now resides,
"I listened carefully while my mother explained that God is love,
and that even in his love it is sometimes necessary for God to allow
us to be hurt in order that we might come to know Him better and understand
that He does have a purpose in all things."
Fussell said, "It is obvious
that Lillian Pennell has a lot to teach us about the strength to accept
interruptions and to grow through great disturbances. But Lillian
attributes her accomplishments entirely to faith in God."
