The Hon. Martin Pence

Eleanor Pence, wife of Martin Pence (his second), passed away on August 15, 2011 at the age of 98.  She is survived by daughters of her first marriage, Merrill Johnston, Drudi Johnston, Suzy Hemmings of Honolulu and her son Tom Johnston of Sydney, Australia.  We last visited with Eleanor in 2007, at which time she was as charming and humorous as ever.  Rest in peace.

My dad, Guido Giacometti, tells one of my favorite stories about Penny.  I wish I had been there:

In 1995 my wife Susan and I were invited to share Thanksgiving dinner with the Pence family and a few friends.  The dinner was at Merriman’s Restaurant in Kamuela, Hawaii, an establishment seating 60 or so guests.  Our party numbered a dozen and took two tables in the center of the dining room.  The place was full, and all were engaged in loud conversations.

Eleanor Pence, a delightful wife with great imagination and humor, handed the Judge a rolled up scroll, which was purported to be the first Thanksgiving Proclamation by Governor William Bradford of Plymouth Plantation in 1620.  (My research indicates various facts which may not be completely accurate.)  At her request, Pence stood up, cleared his throat, and began to recite, as if he were Governor Bradford.

Pence had a wonderfully deep, powerful voice.  The entire restaurant went silent.  Wait help stood still and the cooks came from the kitchen to listen.  At his finish, there was heavy applause, and strangers came up to thank him and ask for an autograph. I believe that he signed as “Gov. Bradford”. 

It was a high point in a fine evening with the Judge.

Here is the proclamation:

Inasmuch as the great Father has given us this year an abundant harvest of Indian corn, wheat, peas, squashes and garden vegetables, and made the forest to abound with game and the sea with fish and clams, and inasmuch as he has protected us from the ravages of the savages, has spared us from the pestilence and granted us freedom to worship God according to the dictates of our own conscience, now I, your magistrate do proclaim that all ye Pilgrims, with your wives and ye little ones, do gather at ye meeting house, on ye hill, between the hours of nine and twelve in the daytime on Thursday, November ye 29th, of the year of our Lord one thousand six hundred and twenty-three, and the third year since ye Pilgrims landed on ye Plymouth Rock, there to listen to ye Pastor and render Thanksgiving to ye Almighty God for all his blessings.

Rendering a Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours.

Thank you to those of you who have alerted me to an incorrect date in the header.  Judge Pence was appointed to the federal bench in 1961, not 1974 - the year he went to senior status (is there a better way to say that?).  I would like to say that I intentionally put in the wrong date to test you.  But the truth is that (me not being particularly tech-savvy) I asked a friend to photoshop the dates into the picture and was so happy with the results that I didn’t notice that I had given him the incorrect date.  A fix is in the works.  Thanks for the responses.  I look forward to receiving more material to post.  ~TG