Penny Stahl

Penny Paula Stahl was born April 3, 1954, in Rapid City, S.D., to Reed and Margaret “Peggy”(O’Neal) Drury, joining an older sister Barbara, then brothers Kenneth and Neal.
They lived in Keystone, S.D., where Reed worked in the mica and quartz mines; returning to Philip, S.D., where they spent the next 19 years. She attended K-12 and graduated from Philip High School in 1972 along with 13 others, who remained friends to this day.
At 12 years old she began work at the hospital in Philip doing lab dishes after school, eventually working in most departments until leaving in 1973 to attend nursing school in Rapid City.
On New Years eve at “Corks” she met William “Bill” Stahl, who she later married Nov. 10, 1973. She attended nursing school at BHAVT for LPN and graduated in February 1975.
She and Bill moved to Custer, S.D., where she became employed at Custer Community Hospital until April 1984.
They had two sons while living in Custer—Ryan John in 1976 and Eric William in 1981. They moved back to Rapid City where she worked at Rapid City Regional Hospital for a brief time, followed by employment at Rapid City Medical Center as a clinic nurse, then later she began a 10-year journey as a clinical nurse with the Heart Doctor.
In 1996 she worked at the VA Medical Center for a short period and later found her niche at Community Health Care Center for the next eight years until Bill became employed in Pierre, S.D. While he worked in Pierre, they moved back to the original Stahl Homestead and tore down the old house and built a new one.
In 2013 Bill and Penny both retired, moving to the country full-time where they spent their remaining years cleaning existing tree patches, planting three new tree patches, and tending to a herd of cats. She became widowed when Bill passed away from pancreatic cancer Oct. 20, 2018. She continued to live in the country and stayed busy with Catholic Church Tribes, completing the renovation of the rectory. She also served as a director and manager of the Bad River Senior Center.
Penny, of Philip, died Monday, May 19, 2025, at Monument Hospice House in Rapid City at the age of 71.
She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, William “Bill” Stahl Oct. 8, 2018; her sister, Barb Clements; and her in-laws, Paul and Dorothy Stahl.
Survivors include her sons, Ryan (Jenae Guffy) Stahl of Hill City, S.D., and Eric (Jeremy Wall) Stahl of Wellington, Colo.; grandchildren, Allison Stahl of Norfolk, Va.,, Trevor Stahl of Sioux Falls, S.D., and Chastin Stahl of Hill City; great-granddaughter, Charlette Erickson; brothers, Reed “Neal” (Becky) Drury of Rapid City and Kenneth (Deb) Drury of Philip; sister-in-law, Jeanne Stahl of Pheonix, Ariz.; aunt, Janet Drury of Sturgis, S.D.; and a host of other relatives and friends.
Christian Funeral Mass will be held at 1 p.m.  May 28 at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Philip.
Christian Funeral Committal will follow at the Masonic Cemetery in Philip.
Arrangements are with Rush Funeral Home of Philip.