Penny May Summers Dalton, 70, of Ocean Shores, Washington, ended her two-year battle with breast cancer on Thursday, Dec. 30, 2022, with her husband of 40 years by her side.
Born on June 10, 1952, in Pocatello, Idaho, Penny was the fifth child and only daughter of Eldon and Clella May Summers. At her birth, doctors immediately noticed that Penny was born with a birth defect, later identified as arthrogryposis, which included fusions of her major joints. While still in the birth room, doctors began to mold her pliable feet bones in an effort to straighten them.
Though Penny had arthrogryposis all her life, she did not “suffer” from it. Her parents lived on a ranch in the Pahsimeroi Valley in Central Idaho, and, for her first two years, Penny “boot-scooted” around the ranch. Her parents moved from the ranch to Pocatello and later Blackfoot in part to be closer to medical services for Penny. Her parents taught her the philosophy of “You can do anything you want to do; you’ll just have to find your way to do it” and Penny always did.
As she grew up, music became an important element of Penny’s life. Gifted with a fine singing voice, Penny began performing for audiences at a young age. She then had a series of operations in her pre-teen years that allowed her, after years of physical therapy, to learn to walk at age 13. She graduated from Blackfoot High School in 1970 and began studies at Idaho State University (ISU) that fall, funded in part by a music scholarship.
While at ISU, Penny joined the concert choir and she sang for people across the state. Through the choir, Penny also met the man who would become her husband, James “Jay” Dalton. From the first day of school in Fall 1972 until her passing, Jay and Penny remained a loving and devoted couple.
In 1975, they traveled with the choir to tour Europe during the St. Moritz Choir Festival. When the choir performed at a church in Salzburg, Austria (featured in The Sound of Music) the bass section anchored an organ bench by holding it on the narrow steps so that Penny, seated on the bench, could sing with the choir.
Penny graduated from Idaho State University with a Bachelor of Science degree, and continued on to earn her Master’s Degree in Speech Pathology in 1976. Wanting to help others as she had been helped, Penny found “her way to do it” by choosing to major in speech-language pathology. Her Master’s thesis was one of the first to advocate combining music with speech therapy to help stroke victims learn to speak again using their singing voice. Her first position as a speech therapist was serving four small school districts in Magic Valley, Idaho for three years, followed by work at Development Workshop, Inc. in Idaho Falls.
After Jay completed his Master of Arts degree at Washington State University, Jay and Penny were married on Aug. 14, 1982, in Blackfoot.
Penny’s next job was director of the Magic Valley Easter Seals Center in Twin Falls, Idaho, where she worked as a speech therapist and administrator until the center was absorbed into the Montana-Idaho Goodwill-Easter Seals in 1984. Penny then found a position at the Child Development Center in her hometown of Blackfoot, while Jay began teaching at a local middle school.
It was while in Blackfoot that Penny began to expand her artistic horizons. As well as singing with the River Valley Singers, a community choir Jay created, she became interested in theater. She went on to sing in several productions produced by the local LDS stake, or with Blackfoot Community Players (BCP) She even reprised a role she first performed in high school, that of Mother Superior in The Sound of Music. She also began to direct, both in musicals and dramatic productions. She had the honor of directing the first BCP production in its new home; the Nuart Theater, with “Dial ‘M’ for Murder.”
Penny’s career experiences also expanded, as she moved to Sundance Therapy in 1990 and began working in nursing homes, first in Idaho Falls and later in Pocatello.
In 1999, the Daltons moved to Ocean Shores, Washington to take jobs with the Aberdeen School District; Jay at Harbor High School, and Penny as a speech therapist at several elementary schools. Over her 17 years with the District, Penny worked with all age groups, from preschool to high school. But most of all, Penny enjoyed her time with her preschool children. One of the most delightful sights was watching Penny in her power wheelchair, with her class of preschoolers following behind like a mother duck with her new ducklings in tow.
After Penny and Jay retired in 2016, Penny entered another new creative phase. She had taken art lessons for oil and watercolor, but she discovered a new medium when she took a three-day class using colored pencils to create portraits. She loved the multiple layering and attention to detail, and soon she was creating quality art work that caught the attention of the North Beach Artists Guild, who asked her to join their group.
Through the Gallery of Ocean Shores, as well as the Ocean Shores Physical Therapy, Penny displayed her new art beginning in 2018. She was elected to the Board of Directors of the Artists Guild, serving as secretary during the COVID pandemic. Many people viewed her art and many purchased originals or prints of her animals or landscapes.
In the spring of 2020, Penny was directing the musical ‘The Fantasticks’ for Stage West Community Theater when the pandemic led to the lockdown two weeks before opening day. During the lockdown, Penny noticed medical issues and was diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer in the spring of 2021. She continued working on her art, including teaching a combination colored pencil/pastel art class, first in the Gallery and later on a Zoom class from home.
Penny is survived by her husband Jay, two brothers, Garry (Roseanne) Summers and Cary (Joyce) Summers, several nieces and nephews and grand-nieces and nephews. Penny was preceded in death by her parents and two brothers, Glenn and Kent.
Penny will be cremated by Coleman Mortuary. No services are planned, and a private memorial to scatter her ashes will be held next summer in Idaho. In lieu of flowers, donations to the American Cancer Society in Penny’s name are suggested.
