Melanne Pennington was a former Miss West Virginia

Miss West Virginia

The Miss West Virginia competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of West Virginia in the Miss America pageant.- Winners :- External links :*...

  competition winner and a delegate to the 1984 Miss America

Miss America

The Miss America pageant is a long-standing competition which awards scholarships to young women from the 50 states plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands...

 pageant.

Early life and education

Born Melanne Lisa Pennington in Kanawha County, West Virginia

Kanawha County, West Virginia

As of the census of 2000, there were 200,073 people, 86,226 households, and 55,960 families residing in the county. The population density was 222 people per square mile . There were 93,788 housing units at an average density of 104 per square mile...

, she was the oldest daughter of Mel and Sharon Pennington. She attended Nitro High School

Nitro High School

Nitro High School is a public high school in Kanawha County, West Virginia. It is located in Nitro, West Virginia. It is one of eight public high schools in the Kanawha County School District...

 in Nitro, West Virginia

Nitro, West Virginia

Nitro is a city in West Virginia, along the Kanawha River. Most of the city lies in Kanawha County, with the remainder in Putnam County. The population was 7,178 at the 2010 census.Nitro was incorporated in 1932 by Circuit Court.- City name origin :...

, and while there became a member of the National Honor Society. She served as a majorette

Majorette

Majorette is a French toy manufacturer which mostly produces small die-cast cars, particularly in 1:64 scale. Traditionally, Majorette was centered in the area of Lyon.-History:...

 for two years and Head majorette her senior year with the award winning NHS marching band

Marching band

Marching band is a physical activity in which a group of instrumental musicians generally perform outdoors and incorporate some type of marching with their musical performance. Instrumentation typically includes brass, woodwinds, and percussion instruments...

. Melanne represented NHS at the National Future Business Leaders of America convention in Denver, Colorado

Colorado

Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...

.

College

After highschool, Pennington matriculated to West Virginia University

West Virginia University

West Virginia University is a public research university in Morgantown, West Virginia, USA. Other campuses include: West Virginia University at Parkersburg in Parkersburg; West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Montgomery; Potomac State College of West Virginia University in Keyser;...

 where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education, and received a Master of Arts degree from West Virginia University's College of Graduate Studies. She was a member of the Alpha Xi chapter of the Delta Gamma

Delta Gamma

Delta Gamma is one of the oldest and largest women's fraternities in the United States and Canada, with its Executive Offices based in Columbus, Ohio.-History:...

 (ΔΓ) Sorority. While in college she was selected to dance with the University's dance troupe "Orchesis". She also took voice lessons and trained as a coloratura soprano.

Life as Miss West Virginia

A beautiful woman and talented singer and dancer, Pennington earned the title "Miss West Virginia" in 1984, and represented West Virginia in the Miss America Pageant in Atlantic City.

Death

In her late 20s, Pennington was diagnosed with chronic myelogenous leukemia

Chronic myelogenous leukemia

Chronic myelogenous leukemia , also known as chronic granulocytic leukemia , is a cancer of the white blood cells. It is a form of leukemia characterized by the increased and unregulated growth of predominantly myeloid cells in the bone marrow and the accumulation of these cells in the blood...

, a form of leukemia characterized by the increased and unregulated growth of predominantly myeloid cells in the bone marrow and the accumulation of these cells in the blood.

She died of the disease on June 30, 1988 at the Chandler Medical Center

Chandler Medical Center

The Chandler Medical Center at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, Kentucky comprises the following:* Centers of Excellence: This includes the Centers for Rural Health, Critical Care Centers, the Sanders-Brown Center on Aging among numerous other units....

 in Lexington, Kentucky

Lexington, Kentucky

Lexington is the second-largest city in Kentucky and the 63rd largest in the US. Known as the "Thoroughbred City" and the "Horse Capital of the World", it is located in the heart of Kentucky's Bluegrass region...

 at the age of 27. She was buried on her 28th birthday at Cunningham Memorial Park in St. Albans, West Virginia

St. Albans, West Virginia

St. Albans is a city in Kanawha County, West Virginia, United States, at the confluence of the Kanawha and Coal Rivers. The population was 11,044 at the 2010 census.St. Albans was laid out in 1816...

. In her memory, The Miss West Virginia Scholarship Pageant established an annual award "The Melanne Pennington Quality of Life Award" and she was appointed a "Distinguished West Virginian" by Governor Arch A. Moore, Jr.

Arch A. Moore, Jr.

Arch Alfred Moore, Jr. was the 28th and 30th Governor of West Virginia from 1969 until 1977 and from 1985 until 1989. He was a Congressman from 1957 until entering the governor's office. He is a member of the United States Republican Party. He ran for reelection in 1988, but was defeated by...

posthumously in 1988.

Sources

http://www.misswestvirginia.org/

http://www.misswestvirginiausa.com/

http://www.deltagamma.org/