Alva Marion Pennock

On the afternoon of May 30, 2023, Alva Marion Pennock joined his beloved wife, Patricia, in Heaven.
Alva was born April 5, 1932, in a coal camp in the small town of Carlisle, West Virginia. His father,
Emmett Pennock, was a coal miner and his mother, Maggie, was a homemaker. He grew up in Carlisle
the second of four sons. He graduated from Oak Hill High School as part of the last graduating class.
Collins High School opened the following year.

His first job, as a teenager, was working for the New River Coal Company Store in Carlisle and Whipple,
West Virginia.

He married Patricia Ann Boyles (Collins class of 1952) on October 4, 1952 and was inducted into the
United States Army five weeks later. His initial post after basic training was at Fort Monmouth, New
Jersey. He was then transferred to Fort Bragg in Fayetteville, North Carolina. He received an Honorable
Discharge on November 11, 1954. He moved back to Oak Hill in 1956. In 1961, Alva moved his family to
Parkersburg and built a new home on Division Street Extension in south Parkersburg in the early 1960s,
where he lived until August of 2022. Alva was an expert woodworker and carpenter. He spent many
hours upgrading his home, including a big workshop where he spent his free time making furniture,
wooden toys, Advent candle holders, and many other items. His specialty was West Virginia clocks.
These beautiful clocks were in the shape of the state, with each county being made from the wood of a
tree found in West Virginia.

After his discharge from the Army, Alva graduated from the National School of Meat Cutting in Toledo,
Ohio and worked as a butcher in Montgomery, WV. He was appointed to a position with the U.S. Postal
Service in 1960. His first assignment was as a mail sorter on a postal train. The train traveled throughout
West Virginia and Maryland, stopping at train depots along the route to deliver mail. Alva would work
alongside other employees sorting mail while the train traveled the line. His next assignment was at the
main Post Office in Parkersburg, WV. He served faithfully until his retirement in 1990.
After retirement, he worked part-time at Woodcraft of Parkersburg, sharing his passion and knowledge
of carpentry and word working with those eager to learn.

Alva was a faithful member of Broadway Baptist Church, joining in the early 1960s and serving as a
Deacon for many years as well as a member of the Trustee Board. He was always willing to help
members of the church with home improvements. When his health no longer allowed him to go to
church on his own, he attended South Parkersburg Baptist Church with his son, Dan and his family.
Alva was instrumental in guiding his three sons to all graduate from West Virginia University and saw his
grandchildren graduate from WVU, WVU at Parkersburg and Ohio University.
Alva and Pat loved to travel. They visited almost every state in the nation, including Hawaii and Alaska
and traveled abroad to Ireland and Canada.

Alva is survived by his sons, David Gregory Leftrich (Doreen) of Shepherdstown; Douglas Bryan (Patty) of
Leonardtown, MD; and Daniel Edward (Janie) of Mineral Wells. He is also survived by seven
grandchildren: Daniel (Judy), Amy Traugh of Parkersburg; Lucas (Gus) of Charleston; Bryan of
Mechanicsville, MD; Bethany (Kyle) Lucas of Joliet, IL; Matthew (Summer) of Silver Spring, MD; and Philip
(Amy) of McClain, VA. Alva was also blessed with six great-grandchildren, Isaac and Samuel Pennock
and Lillian, Hattie, and Lincoln Traugh all of Parkersburg, and Archer Lucas of Joliet, IL.

Alva was preceded in death by the love of his life, his wife Patricia who passed away on June 24, 2014.
He is also preceded in death by his parents Emmett (1967) and Maggie (2006), his older brother Frank
(2021), and younger brothers Raymond (2004) and Richard (2022).

Alva’s failing health required him to move to Wyngate Senior Living Community in August of 2022. The
family would like to thank the staff at Wyngate, as well as Amedisys Hospice for the care they provided
the past few months.

Funeral services will be Monday, June 5, 2023 at Lambert-Tatman Funeral Home, 2333 Pike St. South
Parkersburg, WV at 11:00 AM. Internment at High Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Oak Hill.
Visitation will be Sunday, June 4, 2023 at 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM at the funeral home.