Obituary of Clifford Pennington

It is with extreme sadness that we his family report the passing of Clifford Pennington (Cliff) on May 26, 2020, at Bayfront Medical Center. He was eighty years old, born 4-18-1940 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. He was the husband of wife Phyllis for fifty years, the father to John Pennington, Tiffany Pennington, Jean Marc Pennington (deceased), Marina Pennington, Lisa Pennington, and the grandfather to Justin Reynolds, and Jeremiah Pennington, Nicolas Pennington, and Meghan Pennington (deceased.)

Cliff was a former professional hockey player, played junior hockey with the St. Boniface Canadiens and Flin Flon Bombers where he was later inducted in the Junior Hockey Hall of Fame, played a few games with the WHL Winnipeg Warriors, was a member of the Canadian Olympic team winning a silver medal at the 1960 Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley. From the Olympics he went to the NHL where he played for the Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins, played in the EPHL, in 1970 captured the IHL's Most Valuable Player award and was selected to the first all-star team, and was inducted in the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame in 2005. Cliff retired in 1974 after playing for the St. Petersburg Suns.

Cliff was a member of a group of thirty friends in Winnipeg since an early age. They call themselves The Blossom Boys, naming themselves after Blossom Park in Winnipeg where they played sports together growing up and then rested under a tree after the games. Several years ago, when the tree died, they planted a new tree to gather around. They also put a bench in the park in honor of the Blossom Boys. Every few years they still get together, come from all over Canada and the US for week-long reunions where they still hit tennis balls, baseballs, play football and street hockey, have dinners together and constantly keep in touch. They are in the midst of planning another reunion for this fall.

Among his other interests Cliff loved horse and dog racing. His family owned, trained and raced horses from an early age in Canada, and he was a frequent member of Tampa Bay Downs and Derby Lane.
Cliff's first love was his family. He was the family chief, saw or spoke to his children on a daily basis, including the grandchildren who he constantly baby-sat or took on outings, including the tracks. He was their baby-sitter and the person

we all went to when something needed to be fixed. He seemed to always be able to get things done and made our lives exciting.

Arrangements are being made by Anderson-McQueen. There will be no viewing, but when a celebration is finalized an announcement will be made.
Our hearts are broken. We love him dearly and will miss him forever.