Penny Elaine (Bailey) Lopez, age 58, of Pineville KY, passed away on Saturday, May 9, 2020, at UT Medical Center, in Knoxville, TN. She lost her 3-year long battle with Ovarian cancer.
Although she was diagnosed with cancer unexpectedly in May of 2017, she never let her cancer diagnosis define who she was or change her happy attitude about life. As long as she had the strength, you could find her about town wearing one of her wigs that she took great effort to pick out, her sparkly dangling earrings, makeup done to perfection, and an outfit that you can be sure was carefully chosen. If you saw her on the street, you never would have guessed she was ill; her attitude would not allow it. She had a handicap accessible parking placard but rarely used it, because she didn’t want to be labeled as needing one, and she’d rather allow someone else to have the parking space.
She loved animals of every kind and treated every cat she met as if they had been lifelong friends, and she loved her own cats like children. She loved to dote on her nieces and nephews and was always up for a girl’s day out with her aging mother, for a day of Goodwill treasure hunting.
Originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, and born November 4, 1961, she loved the country and the mountains and had been a resident of Keavy and Pineville, KY, for many years.
She was the eldest daughter of the late Bob Bailey (Hazard, KY) and Margie Sue Ann Hart (Keavy, KY), and her family roots were deep in the country of Kentucky, and so was her heart.
She was the wife of Paul Lopez for over 35 years and stepmother to Stephanie Lopez (and grandchildren Brooklyn & Keelyn), and Kenneth Lopez.
She was a lifelong member of the Jehovah’s Witnesses organization and was a member of the Barbourville, KY Kingdom Hall.
She is preceded in death by her grandparents: John and Susan (Turner) Bailey of Hamilton, OH and Thomas and Armenia Mae (Hill) Hart of Keavy, KY, two brothers: Tommy and Billy and one sister, Susan. She is survived by her other siblings: Dennis Wayne Bailey and wife Missy of Hamilton, OH, Bobby Gene Bailey and wife Robin of Tyler, TX, Rita Ann Hart and husband Stephen of Harrogate, TN, Jeffrey Lynn Bailey and wife Karen of Pineville, KY, Danny Ray Bailey of Evansville, IN, Tammy Yvonne Bailey formerly of Jacksonville, FL, and Peggy Sue Salyers and husband Shiloh of Evansville, IN. She was an aunt to 15 nieces and nephews.
Penny was an avid animal lover and gardener. The fur babies she left behind, are her cats Abigail, Elsa, Emmie, Dainty Flower, and Daffodil, and a beloved dog named Bridgette. She enjoyed watching old classic shows such as The Beverly Hillbillies, The Andy Griffith show, anything British, and anything with the feeling of yesteryear, and that might give someone a great laugh or sense of nostalgia.
She always dreamed of living in an old English cottage surrounded by rolling hills and flowers of every type, with sheep on a hillside and cats in her yard.
We imagine her there now sitting in her garden, watching her cats chase butterflies while wearing a long flowing dress blowing in the wind. With a beautiful soft brimmed hat folding with the breeze, she is waving to us all and smiling, until we meet again.
