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Penelope Colby

Penelope “Penny” Betts Colby died on Sept. 13, 2024, at her home in Chester Village, with her children and daughter-in-law by her side. Penny was born in Boston on June 9, 1937, to the late Margaret Bannerman Betts and John M. C. Betts. She spent her childhood years in Hamden, graduated from the Oakwood Friends School in Poughkeepsie, New York, then Wells College in Aurora, New York. She married Ira “Terry” Gordon Colby III in 1959, and in 1962, they moved to County Road in Guilford, near Penny’s parents. The old red house on the corner became a focus of their lives, where they entertained neighbors, made maple syrup, and raised three children: Ira Gordon Colby IV, Andrea Shippen Colby, and Martha Bannerman Colby. They loved that home and were able to remain there until 2021.

Never one to sit still, Penny was involved in community theater, including the Pickle Players; she was a creative dramatics teacher at Melissa Jones Elementary, and she co-authored a book called Creative Dramatics: Why? How? When? with Katrina Wuerth. For 22 years, she was a fixture at the Guilford Free Library — first as a librarian, then, after earning her master’s in library science at age 56, a reference librarian. She retired in 2006 but was active in many organizations: the Guilford Land Trust, the Guilford Community Fund, ABC House, the Preservation Alliance, the Historical Society, and Friends of the Library, and authored and or gave talks about various Guilford-related topics, including, “The Great New England Hurricane of 1938.”

As a reference librarian, there was little that Penny didn’t know or couldn’t find out, but also little she couldn’t do herself. She was an amazing seamstress and knitter, very creative and artistic, a great cook (but don’t ask what’s for dinner), an avid bird-watcher, a lover of gardens and wildflowers, and a voracious reader.

Penny especially loved her “sister trips” in Maine with the Reverend Martha B. Shaw of Owls Head and Virginia Betts of Bremen, her North Guilford neighbors, her Wells College buddies, explorations in the car when she became less mobile, and time with family and friends in Charlestown, RI, and Sunapee, NH.

Penny was predeceased by her husband, Ira Gordon Colby III, in 2022 and her son-in-law, Frederick Wiggins, in 2021. She is survived by her sisters, her children, her daughter-in-law Lili Koch Colby; and five grandchildren: Emilie Catherine Colby, Alexandrie Colby Churchill (m. Richard), Ira Gordon Colby V, Thomas Kelson Wiggins, and Kathryn Colby Wiggins.

A gathering to celebrate Penny’s life will be held at 1 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 28, at the North Guilford Congregational Church. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in her memory to the Oakwood Friends School, 22 Spackenkill Road, Poughkeepsie, NY, 12603, the Guilford Land Conservation Trust, or a charity of your choice. Arrangements are with the Hawley Lincoln Memorial, Guilford.