Pastor Penny

Sylvia Kernice Hampton-Penny was born on November 9, 1943, in Washington, DC to her mother, Kernice Ruffin-Hampton. She was known affectionately by her family members as "Vicki." She was the third child born in the family of five. She was surrounded by the love of her two older brothers, Lutheran "Norman" Smith, Garnell "Pluck" Hampton and her sister, Laverne "Happy" Hampton. The fifth child, a little brother, died of crib death as an infant. Sylvia was very close to her siblings and her numerous first cousins on her mother's side of her family, The Ruffins. Sylvia attended Anacostia High School in Washington, DC and graduated with honors. Sylvia shared many happy memories with her family in Washington, DC. The Ruffins are a close knit family, Sylvia and her siblings Norman, Pluck and Happy were raised with the Ruffin first cousins so they are all close as siblings as well, singing together at various venues throughout the DC area. They are a very talented musical family; among her cousins is the late great Billy Stewart with whom she and other cousins sang back up for him until his death in 1970. Her vocal talents provided her with many opportunities at a young age. She obtained an audition with Capitol Records while in her 20's but was told she sounded too much like Aretha Franklin, Capitol Records managed Aretha Franklin. They asked her to adjust her singing style and come back. Disappointed at first, she realized God wanted her to go in a different direction. From that point she devoted her vocal talents to Gospel music. She listed among her early musical influences: Mahalia Jackson, Sam Cooke and Clara Ward. She was a member of Matthews Memorial Baptist Church in SE Washington, DC, where she sang in the Young Adult Fellowship (YAF) Choir. She would continue to be one of the lead singers with the YAF until she moved to Denver Colorado. She sang lead on many songs but her most requested song was Mahalia Jackson's version of "His Eye is on the Sparrow". Sylvia had planned to attend Howard University in Washington, DC in the fall of 1963 but these plans changed when she became pregnant with her first child, Clifton. From this point, she always had a soft spot in her heart for young single mothers. While in her 20's and 30's, she and her cousins, Alvetta Peaches Scott, Malinda Everett and Marietta Anderson, formed a singing group called the "Shea Singers." They came up with the name by taking the first letter of their last names Scott, Hampton, Everett and Anderson to spell SHEA. They had many good gospel songs in their repertoire but their most requested song was "Sweeping Through the City" by the Caravans. Every time they sang this song people would rise to their feet, dance all through the building and shout for glory. An interesting fact about the Shea Singers is that they never had one single rehearsal. The women sang together so much growing up that they could meet minutes before they were scheduled to sing, pick a song, assign vocal parts for harmony, sing the song with perfection and wreck whatever church at which they sang! In all, Sylvia had three children; Clifton LaVell Boone, Bobby Derron Fox, Kia Lavon Fox while still living in Washington, DC. She and her three children moved to Denver, Colorado in 1977, which became her home and where she raised her kids. Sylvia was a loving and dedicated mother who loved life and made sure that she instilled great values and a multitude of fun memories for her three children. Her children didn't need an alarm clock, she would wake them for school singing praise music like "Rise, Shine and Give God the Glory" or "I'm looking for A Miracle." While her children may not have known it at the time, she was singing a hedge of protection around them and life into their spirits. She instilled in her children to love the Lord, and don't believe everything people tell you, and to judge a tree by its fruit. She would also say, "you will never please everybody, so don't try." She would also tell her children to, "keep your focus on God and everything will work out fine." She would add that. "Peter walked on water when he kept his focus on God." In 1980, she met Phillip Penny while attending King Baptist Church in Denver. They were married in 1981. They soon joined Now Faith Christian Center Church and became Co-Musical Directors. They were a dynamic team with Phil being a prolific keyboardist and singer and Sylvia's ability to sing, teach harmony and develop talent. Phil and Sylvia founded the Penny Singers in 1982 at Now Faith. They eventually became a phenomenal group renown not only in Denver but sought after to perform throughout the United States. The group went on to perform at various venues for the next several years. In addition to the Penny Singers, in 1983 Sylvia became the co-founder of The Gospel Explosion Music and Ministry Music Awards Program with Ron Slaughter. Sylvia earned her honorary doctorate degree from the Aspen Christian Seminary in 1990. She was one of the initial Gospel Music Directors at Heritage Christian Center, helping laying the foundation to build that choir into a powerful Gospel music ministry. She also worked as the Church Administrator under Pastor Dennis Leonard. In 1997, one of greatest accomplishments was she met President Bill Clinton and sang for the Summit of the 8 World Leaders. In addition to her musical accomplishments, Sylvia was a phenomenal speaker. She was an on air radio personality. Sylvia was invited to speak at many engagements throughout the city of Denver. She hosted and was the main speaker at various church functions. Sylvia was a licensed and ordained minister in Maryland and in Denver where she served as Assistant Pastor alongside Senior Pastor Phil Smith at Colorado Christian Fellowship. Sylvia served on multiple boards and prayer groups and even began mentoring and sending out daily messages of encouragement and word on Facebook. She was multi-faceted in many areas and was truly a gift from God's kingdom. Sylvia was preceded in death by her husband, Philip Penny; her mother, Kernice Ruffin-Hampton; her brother, Garnell "Pluck" Hampton and her sister, Laverne "Happy" Hampton. Sylvia Kernice Penny passed from this life on April 29, 2016, in Denver, Colorado. She leaves a legacy to carry on her memory, her children, Clifton (Lynn) Boone of Charlotte, NC, Bobby Derron (Marshelle) Fox and Kia Fox, both of Denver, CO; her brother, Lutheran "Norman" Smith; her 12 grandchildren, Julian Boone, Kiara Livingston, Jordan Johnson, Joel Boone, Jordan Boone, Gaghe Fox, Jade Boone, Dayan Watson, Jalen Boone, Kevon McBride, Jayden Fox, Kennedy Fox; 3 great grandchildren, Josiah Johnson, Kharma Keeling, Zayden Johnson, and on her way is Khamora Kernice Brown; and a host of other nieces, nephews, cousins, other relatives and many, many beloved friends.

Funeral Home: Pipkin Braswell Funerals and Cremation - 2050 Uinta Street, Denver, Colorado
Visitation: 5/13/2016 at 4:00 PM - Pipkin Braswell Chapel of Peace - 6601 East Colfax Avenue, Denver, CO
Service: 5/14/2016 at 5:00 PM - Heritage Christian Center - 14401 East Exposition Avenue Aurora, CO
Cemetery: Washington DC