Scottsdale resident Mary Blythe Penberthy passed away on May 29, 2013. Formally of Santa Barbara, California, she moved to Scottsdale, Arizona with her husband, K. Voith Penberthy in 1993.
Mrs. Penberthy was born in Des Moines, Iowa on July 10, 1916; the eldest daughter of Dr. and Mrs. H.H. Cory. She was educated in the Des Moines public schools and graduated from Roosevelt High School and Drake University. She continued art and drama education at Oglethorpe University in Atlanta, Georgia and Santa Barbara College. She devoted a good portion of her professional life as an actress and television hostess. In 1957 she had her own show at WHO TV, the first of its kind in Des Moines, known as “The Mary Blythe Show”. In Des Moines she actively promoted the arts and the Civic Arts Association and was a board member of the Kendall Community Playhouse. She was an active member of the Des Moines Women’s Club and Garden Club of America. Mary was an avid gardener and took pride in flower arranging as a hobby. She was also a member of the Junior League in Des Moines, Santa Barbara and Scottsdale over a period of sixty-five years. She loved to paint and for a number of years she marketed her own paintings in an art studio and gallery that she owned in the Santa Barbara area.
Mary Blythe is survived by three children from her first marriage to Herbert (Herbie) Ungles as well as two additional children from her second marriage to John (Jack) S. Howland. In addition, she will be greatly missed by her younger sister Virginia Sampson of Arden, North Carolina as well as her seven grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
Arrangements entrusted to Messinger Indian School Mortuary, Scottsdale, Arizona.
