Claudia Scholten

On October 10, 1940, In Los Angeles, California, a little girl was born to parents, Coleby and Yvonne Webster.  Her name was Penny.  Since Coleby was the grandson of well-known Mormon Handcart Pioneer Francis Webster, Penny became one of his great grand-daughters.  Like her famous ancestor, Penny would weave a rich tapestry in her life and leave a legacy that few will forget. 
            In Penny’s own words, she was a bit of a ham as a young child and loved to perform whenever she was asked.  During World War II, and when Penny was 4 years old, the family often traveled by train.  Penny could always be found somewhere in the long string of cars singing to the soldiers heading off to war.  She was a beautiful child and her mother curled her hair into ringlets and dressed her in a smart dress with matching coat and hat, so that Penny was the spitting image of the young film star, Shirley Temple. 
            In 1944, she became a big sister when her brother Dan Webster (deceased in 2017) was born.  She adored her little brother and formed a strong bond with him that lasted throughout their lives.  Two years later, in 1946, the family moved to Cedar City, Utah where Coleby built a house for the family on 200 East.   The location was perfect for Penny because she loved going to the Carnegie library located just a few blocks away on Main Street.  Her love of books planted the seed for what was to become her greatest talent; Penny was an exquisite writer and editor.  She wrote scientific journal articles, lengthy governmental reports, a biographical book (about how she and her two 18-year-old friends walked 24 miles from the north rim of the Grand Canyon to the south rim, in the middle of July, wearing buckskin school shoes and carrying sandwiches in their handbags and NO water), and hundreds of other works of prose during her lifetime.  Her publications are too numerous to mention.  However, what is important, is that her writings were different. 
            Scientific reports became interesting stories about obscure topics in science.  A 6,000-page Department of Energy report became a work of art with an innovative organizing structure that is now becoming the standard across the scientific community.  She could draw the reader into a topic and make it into something that was easy to understand. 
            One of her most well-known works, Flirting with Danger, Hiking the Grand Canyon the Wrong Way, (2008), is a true story of a Grand Canyon hike that went awry.  Although we had all heard snippets of the tale throughout our lives, until Penny put the words onto paper, no one really knew the extent of danger faced by the naïve young hikers.  It is a cautionary tale for all who seek to enjoy the wild outdoors.    
            In 1950, the family returned to California where Penny excelled in her studies, and in 1958, graduated as valedictorian of her class from Fullerton Union High School.  During her summers, she worked at the north rim of the Grand Canyon as a housekeeper.  Her time at the north rim was some of the happiest days of her life.  Although the work was hard, she was able to spend her time off hiking, in and around the north rim of the canyon.  She saw the different colors and textures of the earth in the canyon and wondered why they were arranged in layers, and just how such a huge canyon was created.  These inquisitive moments created a yearning to know more and ultimately changed her life.  
            In August of 1959, she married “the boy who lived across the street,” Don Scholten.  They both launched brief careers in the banking industry and Penny became the comptroller for a local savings and loan company.  Within 5 years, the little family of two became four with the addition of two girls, Jill and Monica.  Jill now lives in Salt Lake City, Utah and Monica lives in Cedar City, Utah. 
            In 1962 she was hired on at the new theme park, Disneyland, and was soon promoted to an executive level position.  The family spent many days and nights enjoying the park and its attractions and especially loved the “E ticket” rides and private, pre-release screenings of Disney movies. 
            In 1969, Penny and her family left the big city for the quaint little town of Prescott, Arizona.  At the time, there were only 25,000 residents and Penny worked with Don in their real estate appraisal business.  Penny became an avid backpacker and throughout her life, hiked over 600 miles of trails in the Grand Canyon, and hundreds of miles throughout the southwest.  It was in Prescott, that Penny remembered her summer hiking trips in the canyon and developed a keen interest in Geology while taking some classes at Yavapai Community College.  Her interest blossomed into a love for Geology, and in 1975 she graduated with Honors, with an Associate’s degree in Geology.   Penny wasn’t the usual college student.  Her studies went above and beyond those of others and her professors clearly saw her talent.  After graduating with her AA, and with recommendations from her professors, the Arizona College Board granted her a special teaching certificate and she began teaching introductory Geology courses at the college.    
            In 1978 she decided to cash in on a promise made by her husband Don years earlier, to let her go to college after he had graduated from college.  Since Don had graduated from college years earlier, her “cash-in” date was long past due.  As such, she packed her bags and announced to Don that she was leaving to get her Bachelor’s degree at Northern Arizona University (“NAU”).  It was not a request, nor was it open for discussion, she had made her decision.  She told him he could either come with her, or stay in Prescott.  The decision was his to make. 
            Don honored his promise to her and sold their businesses in Prescott and the family home, packed up Monica, and moved to Flagstaff, Arizona.  Jill joined them a year later.  The couple became “dorm parents” at Peterson Hall at NAU.  They went from living in a 2800 square foot home in Prescott to an 800 square foot 2-bedroom apartment in a men’s dormitory.  They had more fun than they ever dreamed they would have and made lifelong friends that later became more family than friends.  Penny was “Mom” to 166 young men.    
            In 1982, Penny graduated with her Bachelor’s in Geology and Master’s in Education from NAU.  With the oil industry booming, she was scooped up by Cities Service oil company. She and Don moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma where she started her dream job as a Petroleum Geologist.  At the time, she was one of only a few women who dared to invade the male-dominated world of drilling rigs and “rough necks.”  They didn’t intimidate Penny and she donned her hard hat, boots, and Brunton compass, and headed out to search for new petroleum deposits.  Penny remarked that Cities treated her like gold, however, there were clouds on the horizon.  Less than a year after moving to Tulsa, the proverbial “bottom dropped out of the oil industry” and Penny was one of thousands of geologists laid off throughout the world.  She was devastated by the turn of events. 
            Penny was not one to allow the wind to fall from her sails and she soon landed a job in Tulsa working for the American Association of Petroleum (“AAPG”).  AAPG publishes periodicals specifically for the oil industry and Penny worked as an editor for their premiere publication “Bulletin of the AAPG.” 
            In 1985, Penny and Don returned to California when Penny was hired by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (“LLNL”) as a technical writer/editor.  Soon, she became a Geologist for the Environmental Protection Department where she studied the environmental damage done by years of explosives testing.  Her early work in the long-term damage caused by the nation’s nuclear weapons program, resulted in important changes to how we now conduct research on explosive devices.  One of her final tasks at LLNL, was to manage and direct over 30 scientists to document the contamination and remediation at LLNL’s “Site 300,” an EPA Superfund site.  The end result was a 6,000-page, 15 volume treatise, costing $ 6 million dollars and 3 years to complete.  The report is now the “Bible” of geologic and environmental information for the site, and is used by LLNL and all relevant governmental agencies.  She is included in 3 different volumes of “Who’s Who” publications about pioneering women in the field of geology. 
            In 1996, Penny retired from LLNL and joined Don in Crescent City California where they bought a beautiful home right on the ocean.  Penny had always wanted a house on the water and Don had spent the last year completely rebuilding the home.  She loved seeing the whales in the spring as they migrated north for the summer and was thrilled when winter storms whipped the sea into a frenzy and the rain and sea foam pelted her living room windows.  It was in this place, with towering redwood trees, that Penny used another of her life-long talents and began helping stray and unwanted animals in Del Norte County.  She could organize anything like “nobody’s business.”  The local Humane Society had a thrift shop in town that helped fund their shelter and rehab efforts.  It had largely been ignored for years, was in complete disarray, and made very little money.  In a short period of time, she and Don turned the shop into a “going business concern.”  They solicited the community for clothing racks, shelving, hangers, and a storage facility, and then Penny completely reorganized the store.  The thrift shop started making money and the Humane Society helped more stray and unwanted animals find new homes and obtain needed veterinary treatment. 
            In 2002, Penny and Don left Crescent City for Cedar City, Utah.  They bought a 20-year-old house and, once again, turned it into a showplace.  Once completed, they began their exploration of the world.  Over the following years they visited 50 countries on 4 different continents. 
            Penny died on the morning of July 6, 2021, in Cedar City, Utah.  It was sudden and completely unexpected.   Penny’s family is devastated and confused by her absence.  Nothing will ever be the same again without Penny.  Why?  Because . . .  Penny made a difference, with her life, and in the lives of those who loved her, husband Don, daughters Jill and Monica (Monica and Joe Wurm), and close cousin Lora Spencer (Colorado).  We will, however, honor her life and memory by loving those around us, striving for the pinnacle of excellence in all we do, and above all else, by Making a Difference.  Final arrangements are under the care of Southern Utah Mortuary.  Online condolences can be sent at www.sumortuary.com.

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