Rest in Peace Maj. Darrell Penner, CSP (Ret)

I went to the funeral today of a great man, my friend and a man who served the Colorado State Patrol for 36 years… and retired in 1990 as a Major, Darrell E. Penner.

Darrell, aged 80, stayed very active after his retirement too, becoming involved in the founding of numerous organizations including the Retired Peace Officers of Colorado, Inc. and the Colorado State Patrol Alumni Association. Darrell was a big believer in the power of legacy and has proven it’s effectiveness with is own life and death.

As they always do the funeral made me think about life and what legacy I will leave behind. One thing Darrell did that I admire was to write out his thoughts and memories about his 36 year career and all the people that he worked with and met along the way. Many of those memories were quoted during his eulogy and the remarks of those who remembered him best.

What are you doing to document your life and career? Darrell was a collector of memorabilia, pictures, news clippings etc. Those are the things that helped him remember his career and the things that others used to remember him. Maybe we can all learn from Darrell and do a better job of documenting our lives to help us and others remember the way things really were.

Darrell Penner Born August 4, 1929 in Omaha, Nebraska. He passed away August 24, 2009 in Wheat Ridge, Colorado. He is survived by his wife Ivonne; children Mark (Lori), and Marla; grandchildren Daniel and Jennifer Penner; great granddaughter Steph.

Memorial contributions may be made to CSPAA Family Foundation P.O. Box 150307 Lakewood, CO 80215.

About Editor

John Marx was a Police Officer for twenty-three years and served as a Hostage Negotiator for nineteen of those years. He worked as a patrol officer, media liaison officer, crime prevention officer and burglary detective. Also during his career he served as administrator of his city's Community Oriented Governance initiative through the police department's Community Policing project. Today John combines his skills to consult with businesses about improving both their security and their customer service programs. John retired from law enforcement in 2002. When one of his friends, also a former police officer, committed suicide at age 38, John was devastated and began researching the problems that stress creates for police officers. He decided he needed to do something to help change those problems and he wanted to give something back to the profession that gave him so much. He started a project that has evolved into CopsAlive.com. Put simply, the mission of CopsAlive is to save the lives of those who save lives! CopsAlive.com gathers information, strategies and tools to help law enforcement professionals plan for happy, healthy and successful careers, relationships and lives.

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