Retired BLET General Chairman Dennis “Denny” E. Penning, who served the Union Pacific-Central Region GCA for many years, passed away on September 7, 2023. He was 75 years old.
Brother Penning hired out on the Missouri Pacific Railroad in 1967 and earned promotion to locomotive engineer in 1971. Shortly thereafter he joined the BLET where he assumed a leadership role within the organization. During his tenure as General Chairman, he was involved in the handling of two historic railroad mergers: the C&NW merger with the UP, and the UP-Southern Pacific merger. He negotiated agreements that still to this day benefit the hard-working BLET members running trains for the UP. His widow, Debbie, continues to serve the BLET as office manager of the UP-Central Region GCA.
A celebration of life will be held on September 22, 2023. Brother Penning’s full obituary is available here.