Kala Louise Turley was born to E.B. and Louise Turley on November 27, 1946 in Chickasha, Oklahoma. One year later, the family welcomed her younger sister, Leah, who became her best friend in life. First living on a farm in Chickasha and Pocasset, her family then moved to Marlow where she attended school, graduating from Marlow High School in 1965.

Kala met her future husband Jimmy Pennington when he crashed the Marlow Prom in 1965 and asked the prom queen for a dance. After marrying in 1969 they welcomed their daughter Kimberly in 1970 and son Bradly in 1976. Kala planned the absolute best birthday parties for her children, including an epic Wizard of Oz party complete with life size standups of the Scarecrow, Tin Man and Cowardly Lion and an actual yellow brick road. She collaborated on many science fair projects with her children - often, doing most of the science herself. Her mom skills were exceptional.

A beloved elementary school teacher whose creativity was reflected in her beautiful and happy classrooms, she inspired a love of reading in all of her students. Kala earned her bachelor's degree in Education from USAO and worked for 25 years in Moore Public Schools where she taught English language arts and received many awards and recognition. Kala later earned her Master's degree as a Reading Specialist from OU and brought her love of books and reading to everything she did. Students loved her Hank the Cowdog voices and she mastered the art of using Jolly Ranchers to motivate her students.

Kala was a highly decorated educator throughout her career in Moore Public Schools. She was the Kingsgate Teacher of the Year in 1979, the Sky Ranch Teacher of the Year in 1987 and 1990, and the Moore PTA Outstanding District Elementary Teacher of the year in 1990. In 1991, she was named Teacher of the Year at Fisher elementary. In 1996 her 6th grade students mounted a telephone campaign to recognize her as the KOMA Teacher of the Year. (If you lost count, that's six times that she was honored for her work in the classroom!) An early adopter of new technologies, she also taught students how to use first generation Mac computers and served as school site technology staff after her retirement, sharing her love of cool tech tools with the next generation of teachers.

Kala raised a family and had an incredibly successful career becoming an amazing role model, especially for her daughter, Kim. A wife, mother, sister, aunt, cousin, teacher, seamstress, graduate student, and eventually a proud Nana - she did it all with grace and generosity. After retirement, Kala helped to raise all of her grandchildren by being their first and only babysitter. All four grandchildren had the exceptional privilege of having a grandmother who was also a reading specialist - It's no wonder that they were all early readers and love reading! They were truly the apple of her eye.

Everyone who knew Kala loved her. She was patient, generous, and most of all kind. Always the first to host a shower for friends or volunteer to teach Sunday school or children's choir. She was a long time choir member at Moore New Life Methodist Church and Newcastle First Baptist Church, where she also taught children's choir for many years. Kala had a gift for maintaining friendships over the years, especially her "Dinner Group" of friends who she taught with beginning in the 1970s and who still meet together regularly. They celebrated over 50 years of friendship on New Years 2025. Kala's heart was broken at the loss of her son, Brad in 2022, but turned her grief into love by contributing to local organizations that support the unhoused in our communities.

Kala entered Heaven on January 14th, 2025 and is survived by her loving husband of 55 years, Jimmy Pennington who has been a steadfast and devoted caregiver for the last year. She will be missed beyond words by her daughter, Kim Pennington and partner Mike Jenkins. Her grandchildren, Guthrie and Buddy Jenkins and Kristana and Riley Pennington will forever remember her as their loving Nana, who happily spoiled them rotten. She is also survived by her sister and best friend, Leah Green and the Green, Turley, and Pennington families. She was preceded in death by her son, Bradly James Pennington.

In lieu of flowers, Kala asked that donations be made in her memory to support future classroom teachers via the UCO Teacher Education Scholarship fund. www.centralconnection.org/support-teachers

Services will be at 2:00 PM Saturday, January 18, 2025 at the South Lakes Chapel of Vondel L. Smith & Son Mortuary at South Lakes, 4000 SW 119th Street (SW 119th & I-44), Oklahoma City, OK 73173.