Bobby Lynn Pennington was born on January 24, 1947 in West Fork Arkansas, to his parents Wilma and Arron Pennington. He was the first of 6 children, and a big brother to his sisters Linda Pennington, Larine Payne and Sharon Hodges.  Bobby's sisters Veleda Clopp and Sandra Sanders preceded him in death, along with their parents.

He graduated from Will Rogers High School in Tulsa, and later joined the Air Force, where he served as a missile system analyst specialist, working with the nuclear arsenal. He had two children around this time, James and Tammy, with his first wife.

Upon discharge from the military, Bob worked for a time at Southwestern Bell telephone in Tulsa and then moved to Senturion Sciences, where he traveled throughout the country, servicing and installing seismographs in remote regions of wilderness, mountains and desert. He once saw Bigfoot jumping over a large tree trunk while out on a job site, and has the photo to prove it... somewhere … It was at this company that his dog, Damien, introduced him to Charlene. They married on June 18th, 1976, and their son Damon was born in 1978. He then began his career at American Airlines, where he worked as an Infrastructure Specialist, where he helped design and implement the airline's very first network-based booking and reservation system, and worked on many other projects. He spent the rest of his working career there, until his retirement.

Bob was an amazing father, devoted husband, loving son and a protective brother. He was a provider for his entire family, and a man of honor. He gave so much, and expected so little in return. He loved his little dog, Pickles, and the two of them were inseparable. They went on many car rides together.

He was also a man of science and nature. His wonder and curiosity for the universe and its boundless mysteries was matched only by his intellect and desire to constantly learn more. Which led him to his decision to donate his body to science, in hopes they will discover something that will help others.

He enjoyed looking through his telescope, "poking holes in the sky". He could build computers from scratch, repair any vehicle, troubleshoot any electronic component, and write code in any computer language…all while not missing one single episode of Star Trek! He was an avid fisherman and outdoorsman, and was happiest when he was at a lake with a fishing pole in-hand. If he could have got away with it, his dream was to live the life of a hermit; far away from a city, in a wood cabin in the mountains. I'm sure he would have loved to have a grizzly bear as a sidekick too. He also had a brief stint as a racecar driver, participating in several Pro Rallies in Oklahoma, Arkansas and Colorado with Dick and Charlette Gifford.

Bob enjoyed the company of his best friends, Stacy and Lynda Stakis, and looked forward to their weekly card game night every Saturday. They were friends for over 35 years, and knew they could count on each other through thick and thin.

Bob loved adventure, which is why he was fascinated with astronomy and the study of the universe. He hoped he would see the day that the average person could travel to space. That time has not come for us, but on March 9th of 2018, Bob Pennington shot into the sky like a phoenix…triumphant and powerful. Traveling beyond the stars and nebula above, illuminating the night sky with his spirit. On a journey he forever dreamed of taking, and always deserved to see. He gave his family the world, and now he has the universe.