Pioneer Queen Susie Penhollow, 79, dies

Published 5:15 am Thursday, May 16, 2024

Susie Penhollow, the former Deschutes County clerk who showed the community and the state that mailing ballots is a safe and secure way for voters to cast their ballots, has died.

She was 79.

Penhollow was the elected county clerk from 1982-2002, at a time when the county experienced explosive population growth. During her tenure as clerk, she not only brought mail-in ballots to the county, but she was responsible for establishing online access to real property tax records, said Nancy Blankenship, who served as the county clerk after Penhollow.

“She’s a pioneer,” Blankenship said. “Deschutes County was the first county you could look up your deed online. It was controversial; it was expensive but she knew that it was right for the customer. It was their record. From my perspective, her customers, were her priority.

“Many of the initiatives I instituted were because of the foundation Susie set in the clerk’s office.”

Showing the light

It was because of Penhollow’s belief in technology that the state now conducts elections by mail, said Phil Keisling, who served as Oregon secretary of state from 1991-1999.

“She was a dedicated public servant of the best kind who cared not a whit about the partisan politic,” Keisling said. “She cared greatly about democracy and getting people to participate and giving access to every voter, regardless of their political persuasion.

“Susie epitomized what’s best about the public service tradition.”

Keisling said Penhollow convinced him and state lawmakers at the time that voting by mail would contribute to the integrity of elections, not detract. In the 1980s, Oregon allowed counties to hold local elections by mail, but not the general or primary elections.

In 1995, after years of working with Keisling to convince him and showing him data on absentee ballot numbers, Oregon became the first state to hold a primary and general election by mail.

“People who like Susie were the leaders that made vote by mail happen in Oregon,” Keisling said. “It was the local clerks responsible for running elections who built trust with their communities and were instrumental in making it happen. Susie helped convince the fellow clerks and citizens in Deschutes County.

“She was a treasure. I so appreciate her leadership and her patience to educate me and patience to wait for me to come around and see the light.”

Kelly Cannon-Miller, Deschutes County Historical Society executive director, said Penhollow believed in democracy and saw her role as clerk as vital to supporting that concept.

“I don’t know if we’ll ever see another one like her,” Cannon-Miller said. “When you look at how fast the population was growing at the time, as a clerk she had to keep up with that. It was important that we had someone so steady.”

Life and times of Penhollow

Penhollow, a native of Bend, graduated from Bend High School in 1962. She attended Oregon State University for a year before returning to Bend.

She worked for Vince Genna at the Bend Park & Recreation District and attended Central Oregon Community College at night. She met and married Mike Penhollow from Redmond in 1964. In 1970, she was hired by the Deschutes County Clerk’s Office and upon the retirement of County Clerk Rosemary Patterson in 1982, Penhollow ran for the office.

Penhollow served as the grand marshal for the Bend Christmas Parade 2017 and was honored by Bend High School as a Distinguished Alumnus in 2019. The Deschutes Historical Museum crowned her Pioneer Queen in February 2024, making she and her mother, Millie, the only mother and daughter to both serve in that role.

Services are pending.