11/21/1961 – 6/26/2025
Eudora
Penny Rae Harrell Eisenbarger, 63 of Eudora, Kansas, passed away following a short battle with cancer on June 26th, 2025, in her home in Grove Oklahoma. A memorial service celebrating her life will be held at 10:00 AM on Friday, July 18, 2025, at Warren-McElwain Mortuary-Eudora Chapel in Eudora Kansas.
Penny was born on November 21st, 1961, in Lawrence Kansas, daughter of Merlin and Patsy Eisenbarger. She graduated from Eudora High School in 1979. Penny married Mike Harrell of Lawrence on June 13th, 1984, and had two sons. While living in Kansas she worked for USD497 school district and later transitioned to the University of Kansas Bursar’s office.
Her professional contributions were as impressive as her personal ones. During her well-established career serving students with tuition accounts and financial aid applications, she discovered a loophole that prohibited some active National Guard service members from receiving financial aid for tuition. She took this challenge personally, and after 2 years of pleading her case with congress members and Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius, was able to get a bill passed resolving the issue.
Penny moved to Grove Oklahoma to care for her mother in 2012 and found peace in the small lake community. She worked for 7 years for the City of Grove, prior to her official retirement. What she cherished most was time with friends and family, particularly visits from her great nephew, Hudson, and her two sons Max and Brad.
Penny had a passion for plants and flowers, and she was always excited to share her garden with guests on her covered patio. She was an avid fan of her Kansas Jayhawks, particularly the men’s basketball team. Penny was smart, devoted, strong-willed, and had an endless capacity for love, always putting the needs of others before her own, especially when it came to her two children.
She is survived by her mother Patsy Eisenbarger, sister Pam, and her two sons Max and Brad Harrell, and his wife Alex.
Family suggests memorials to the Good Shepherd Hospice of Grove Oklahoma and may be sent in care of Warren-McElwain Mortuary.
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