Patricia "Penny" Marie Melody, age 62, of Castle Creek peacefully passed away in her home with her girls by her side, on Tuesday, April 6, 2021. Penny was predeceased by her father, Richard Mahoney, and her partner of 19 years, Mark Stimak. She is survived by her mother, Millie Mahoney; sister, Terri Spangenburg (Joel); brother, Richard Mahoney (Kim); daughters, Stacie Paler-Large, Amy Fletcher-Foster (Tim Foster), and Carol Melody (David Shelp); grandchildren, Corrina, Colin, Joaquin, Addison, Aubrey Moon, and Cora Lee; several nieces, nephews, and cousins; and godson, Brian Stimak.
Penny was a 1977 graduate of Newark Valley High school, after which, she became a devoted mother. She was extremely proud to "raise her army" of a family, including her two bonus children, Mike, and Sara Melody. Following in her mother's footsteps, Penny entered the workforce as a school bus driver for the Windsor Central School District. We secretly think she loved that job so much because she was able to keep tabs on her own kids at all times. After 19 devoted year, Penny retired from the BOCES school system. Many of her years there were served as a Senior Typist for the Oak Tree Program. She loved the students and her co-workers dearly.
Penny spent her free time by doing just that, living life freely. She enjoyed fishing (She always had to catch the biggest fish!), gardening, listening to music while soaking up the sunshine ("You need your vitamin D!"), boating, and trips to the Adirondacks. She was always captivated when watching the sunrise over the ocean. By far Penny's most cherished time was when she got to be with her grandchildren. She loved being their "Mima" and took so much pride in everything they did.
With family by her side, Mom battled cancer for over two years with the same grace, bravery, and courage that matched her spitfire, sassy approach to life! Mom truly lived, loved, sang, and danced right through her last days with us here. She is so deeply, deeply loved.
We would like to thank the following people for helping us to provide extraordinary care for our mother: Dr. Kloss and his staff at Broome Oncology, Denise, Shannon, and Joanne from Hospice, and her at home care team Sandie, Andrea, Jasa, Deb, Bree, Kristen, and Autumn. The family will receive family and friends at Chopyak-Scheider Funeral Home 326 Prospect Street Binghamton, NY on Tuesday, April 13, 2021 from 2:00-4:00, with a service to follow at 4:00.
Kindly share your reflections of Penny on her guestbook at Chopyak-Scheider.com.