In Memory of Penelope Witte Allderdice (January 5, 1932 − May 23, 2025)

We offer our condolences to the family and colleagues of the Rev. Penelope “Penny” Witte Allderdice, who died on May 23, 2025, at the age of 93.

Penny was born on January 5, 1932, the fourth of seven children born to Edward and Eleanor Witte. She grew up in a former Shaker village in Harvard, MA, where her family owned a “Square House” and strove for self-sufficiency. The Witte family planted, harvested, preserved, hatched, fed, cleaned, cooked, and tended to their own crops and animals. They valued cooperation, responsibility, respect for physical labor, and the process of design and cooperation. From an early age, Penny learned to listen to and respect others’ beliefs, a value that stayed with her throughout her life.

Penny graduated from the Cambridge School of Weston, a place where students were encouraged to think for themselves, rather than passively accept stereotyped ideas. During her time there, she was influenced by the reading and discussion of Emerson’s essay “Self-Reliance,” an experience that shaped her lifelong commitment to independent thought.

Penny went on to earn a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Chicago in 1952, followed by a Master of Science in Genetics from Utah State University in 1956, and a Ph.D. in Genetics from Montana State University in 1965. She completed her postdoctoral research training in Human Genetics at the College of Physicians and Surgeons (Columbia University) in New York City. In 1973, Penny moved to St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada, where she directed the Provincial Cytogenetics Diagnostic laboratory and held teaching and research positions. During 1997−1998, she was a fellow at the MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics in Chicago.

After a long and successful career in the academic and medical world, Penny felt called to explore the deeper theological and ethical dimensions of life. Her passion for learning and lifelong interest in the sacred led her to Meadville Lombard Theological School in Chicago. Upon completion of her degree, she hoped to collaborate with a hospital pastoral care unit and continue her work toward engaging constructively with the theological realities of this century. In 2001, she earned her Master of Divinity.

The Rev. Dr. Allderdice was ordained on July 1, 2001, by the Third Unitarian Church of Chicago, where she served as an executive director (2001-2003) and an affiliated minister (2002-2006). Following this, she dedicated herself as a UU hospital chaplain in Buffalo, Hamilton, Toronto, and St. John’s. In each setting, she brought compassion, insight, and ethical guidance to patients, families, and staff.

Penny’s curiosity, intellectual acuity, and energy were remarkable. She lived by the ethic of living simply and devoted herself to making this world a better place. Her professional life in the lab affected people’s lives and choices. She made strong connections between research and impact, theory and praxis. Her compassionate respect for those coping with genetic disorders was especially notable. 

She delighted in sharing the joys of gardens, animals, cooking, music, and the arts and crafts with those around her, leaving a legacy of care, curiosity, and creativity. 

Her son Jacob shared, “Penny was long an advocate of “Dying and Dignity” and her choice to end her own life by way of Canada’s MAID (Medical Assistance in Dying) program was something specifically she asked me to put as the start in the obituary I wrote for her, as an example of what she called having “the courage of her convictions.”

Penny is survived by her son, Jacob (Sharon); daughter, Frances; and her five grandchildren: Jasper, Morgan, Celeste, Rowan, and Lillian. She was preceded in death by her son, Edward, and her husband, Bill.

A celebration of life will be scheduled for 2026.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the charity of one’s choosing.

Notes of condolence can be written here.