Thelma Rene (Penny) Austin Wade was born on September 21, 1944 to Corrie Irene Cherry & Alexander Austin. She was raised with her siblings by Corrie & stepfather Sharron (Sharkey) Neighbors in Victoria, Texas, until Corrie passed in 1966. She was the eldest of Corrie’s surviving children. She graduated from Bloomington High School in 1965.
Thelma married Tom R. Wade in 1965 & they moved to California, where she became a Marine Corps wife & then a first-time mother to Tatia Renee’ Wade, in May 1966. Her second daughter, Tanya Roche’ Wade, arrived in January 1970.
Thelma made the decision to accept Jesus Christ in 1978 & attended The Temple of Believers, under Pastor J. Liddell, for a couple of years; getting a foundation of fellowship & family, before feeling the urge to move to Los Angeles Christian Center, under Pastor F. C. Miller; where she sang in the choir & remained a member for several years. Penny always enjoyed singing & was blessed with a pleasant, first soprano voice.
She became grandmother to Tatialenn Q. Jones in May 1987 & great-grandmother to Taryn Q. Jones-Ellison in November 2008.
Penny worked in banking for 40 years & retired from her last job at Bank of America in 2016.
She loves hummingbirds, whales, kittens & puppies, as well as music, angels & motorcycles.
Penny is survived by her daughters, granddaughter & great-grandson; as well as her siblings: Willie Jean Chase of Austin, TX; Sharron “Tex” Neighbors, jr. of Fayetteville, NC; Loyce “Faye” Lee, Elvanna “Red” Galbreath & Jesse Neighbors of Houston, TX; Beverly Sue Goodloe-Kerrville of TX & Gerald Glenn Neighbors of Edna, TX. She is the Aunt & great-Aunt to many nieces & nephews. She joins her mother, father, stepfather, 3 infant siblings & her younger sister Minnie Austin-Hill, who preceded her to Heaven in March of this year.
Penny leaves a legacy of compassion, empathy & Christian love. She led many souls to Christ in her life by embodying the spirit of Christ’s love & producing the Fruit of the Spirit wherever she went. She was an excellent role model of a virtuous woman for her daughters as they grew & she passed to them the blessing of showing compassion & generosity to those in need, even & sometimes especially, strangers. She never stopped growing in Christian love, tolerance & acceptance of others’ differences, seeing everyone as God’s children & worthy of kindness. Everyone who had the pleasure of her company was given the gift of her gentle, nurturing & kind nature & came away feeling better about their day.
She is already & will continue to be greatly missed until we meet again.
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