Mary Ellen Penny, 86, of Rock Island, died Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2014 at St. Mary's Hospital, Rochester, Minn.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be 9:00 a.m. Monday at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Rock Island. Burial is at the National Cemetery, Rock Island Arsenal. Visitation is 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday at the Wheelan-Pressly Funeral Home, Rock Island, where a rosary will be recited at 1 p.m. Memorials may be made to Alleman High School.

Mary Ellen McElhinny was born on June 1, 1928 in Omaha, Nebraska, the daughter of Earl M. and Mary F. Finn McElhinny. She married Paul J. Penny on June 30th, 1948. He died on August 30th, 1997.

Mary Ellen attended Rock Island's Sacred Heart grade school. She graduated from St. Joseph's Catholic School. For many years she devoted her time to organizing class reunions. She worked for Illinois Bell Telephone for 37 years. She also assisted her husband with their home- based United Ambulance Service. She was a member of Sacred Heart Church in Rock Island and served on the Altar & Rosary Society. She was also involved in leadership positions with her children's Cub Scouts and Girl Scout Troops. She retired in 1983 from the phone company and became a dedicated volunteer with the company's Telecom Pioneers. Her dedication led to hours of work on her favorite program "All God's Children"; the program offers shoes, socks, gloves, hats and scarves for our community's low income children. In the summer months she could be found volunteering or scheduling others to work at the John Deere Classic. In 1994 she was appointed Trustee on the Rock Island Township Board. She later was elected Township Clerk. She retired from the board in May of 2013. During her years at the township, she supported projects for low income senior citizens; especially ones that made their lives easier. One of her favorites was the yearly Holiday Dinner. Mary Ellen could be found welcoming the guests as they arrived. She didn't always make time to eat but she made sure she was close by when door prizes were given out so she could congratulate the winners! Her work as a Clerk was recognized statewide when she received an Award for her dedicated and selfless service as a Director of the Township Officials of Illinois Clerk's Association.

She loved traveling especially to the Caribbean and China. She also enjoyed playing cards and chatting with her family and friends.

Survivors include her daughter, Paula (James) Wood; sons, Michael and David (Wendy) Penny. She had seven grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren. Special friends include, Jackie Salmonson, Joan Fobert-Guise, Carolyn Bileddo and Pat Penny. She was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Paul; and grandson Joel.

Online condolences may be left at wheelanpressly.com.