Uva "Penny" Helen Cranston

Uva was born in Columbus, Ohio to  Howard (Gus) and Alma Hatch.  She had two brothers, Leonard (Maxine) Hatch,  Harvey (Helen) Hatch, and one sister Carol (Art) McCoy.  While in middle school some classmates were making fun of her name and a friend offered to purchase her name for a Penny, and was called "Penny" ever since.  When Penny was about 14 she and her mother moved from Ohio to San Pedro, CA. to live with her sister Carol and her family.  Her dad would follow shortly afterwards. It was around this time when Penny put her faith and trust in Jesus as her savior, and remained a committed Christian the rest of her life.   While in high school,  her best friend, Joanne, had a brother, Clarence ( Bud ) Cranston, that Penny fell in love with.   They were married in 1951.   Penny and Bud had 5 children.   David, Clarence "Randy", Pamela Jean, Lance, and Tim.  In 1956 they moved from San Pedro to a new house in the relatively new city of Lakewood, CA.   Penny stayed home with the children while Bud worked as a truck driver.   Penny and Bud divorced in 1965,  and Penny received custody of the children.  She could no longer be a stay at home mom,  so she went to work and raised the kids on her own as a single mom.    Penny worked retail for a while at a clothing store and for the telephone company and eventually ended up working for Douglas Aircraft in Lakewood, CA.   Douglas became  McDonnel/Douglas and eventually became a part of Boeing.  She worked her way up in the company and eventually became the executive secretary for one of the many vice presidents.   She was very proud of this and in a parking lot of thousands of employees,  she finally had her own “spot” .   She had 52 men that she secretaried for, besides her direct boss.  They were in charge of keeping parts for planes available and in stock for the various airlines, countries, and private parties that purchased planes, in order to maintain and repair as needed.  She eventually retired in the early 90’s.   In 1984 Penny met Coy Herring and they married in January 1985.   Together they traveled all over the globe and went on many cruises.   They lived in Westminster, CA. and had a weekend home in Canyon Lake,  right on the lake.   Penny spent lots of time at the Lake House.  It was her  “Happy Place”.    One of her favorite memories was attending the inauguration of President Reagan in Washington, DC.  They spent a lot of time in Hawaii where Coy owned a condo in Waikiki. Often flying over for the weekend to attend football games and golf.  Penny and Coy divorced in 1996,  yet still remained friends, and Coy is still considered part of the family.  Penny took up bowling and golfing while working at Douglas Aircraft.  They had company leagues and it gave her lots of pleasure to spend time with fellow employees “off the clock”.  She developed many life long friends and really looked forward to the fellowship and outings they all had together.  She was really proud of the  single  “hole in one”  she made and was not bashful about telling people about it.   Penny spent two years in Oregon, to be close to three of her sons and the grandchildren,  but the fact that they closed the golf courses in the winter was just too much to bear.  She moved back to Southern California in 1996 and purchased a condo in Leisure World,  a gated 55 and older community.  It has over 8,000 residents,  two golf courses, bowling alleys,  rec halls, churches, parks, swimming pools, community garden, and was a very safe place for a single retired grandma.  She lived there until November of 2020,  and then moved to an apartment in Sublimity, OR. at the Sloper Residence of Marian Estates.     On Wednesday, Feb. 17th, 2021, Penny sustained a major heart attach and was taken to Salem Health Hospital.  There she received two stents and was nursed back to health and released the following Sunday.  Later that evening she had another heart event and returned to the hospital.  It was determined that her first heart attack had done irreparable damage to Penny’s heart and the only way to sustain her was through continuous IV medication.  She was alert and able to participate in the decision to stop treatment and let nature take it’s course.    Penny passed from this world into the loving arms of Jesus on Thursday,  Feb. 25th, 2021,  at approximately half past four in the afternoon.   Penny was preceded in death by her parents, both of her brothers and her sister.  She was also preceded in death by two of her sons,  David and Lance, her only daughter, Pamela Jean (still-born), and a great grand daughter, Ryleigh.   Her first husband Bud passed away in 1999.   Penny is survived by her two remaining sons,  Tim (Jody) Cranston, Stayton,OR.  Randy (Judi) Cranston Sublimity,OR.;    Grand Children  Luke (Jessica) Cranston, Stayton, OR.,  Leigha Bundy, Stayton, OR.,  Tasha (Nate) Pendley  Albany, OR., Danny (Maegan) Cranston, Taylor, TX., Lance Cranston Stayton, OR., Chris Cranston, Sublimity, OR., Robert Cranston Stayton, OR., David Cranston Eugene, OR., Kaitlyn (Kyle) Anundi  Portland, OR., and Jacob Cranston  Sublimity, OR.; Great Grand Children Tylee Bundy,  Liberty Bundy, Abi Cranston, Dinah Cranston, Lili Cranston, Kenzie Cranston, Tinsley Cranston, Madi Cranston, and Marcella Cranston.  She is also survived by former husband Coy Herring and former daughter in law,  Kathy Sweetland.    The family wishes to express their sincere appreciation for the staff at Salem Health and Sloper Residence for the exceptional, loving care that was extended to not only Penny,  but to the rest of the family as well. We are also very grateful for the wonderful care given to Penny upon her passing by the staff at Weddle Funeral Services.      Thank you so very much Randy,  Tim and the rest of Penny’s family.