Dorothy Pennington-Medina, known for warmth, radiance

Dorothy Pennington-Medina, known for her warmth and radiant smile, took joy in all she touched, whether it was orchids or old friends. And her joy was contagious.

Her oldest friends went all the way back to grade school. New ones went back a few hours.

"We'd be on the elevator at Nordstrom, and when we got off, she'd have a new friend," said her husband, Richard Medina, former sheriff of Island County, whom she married in 1990.

"It could be said of her that she was Martha Stewart without the business," said son-in-law, Robert Merry. "She was a terrific cook and an entertainer, and she did it all effortlessly."

Mrs. Pennington-Medina died Tuesday of complications from lung cancer at the home she shared with Medina on Queen Anne Hill. She was 77.

A former schoolteacher and member of the Washington Athletic and Rainier clubs, Mrs. Pennington-Medina, "Dot," to friends and family, was blessed in life, they said, fortunate to have had two wonderful marriages.

Her first husband, former Seattle Times publisher W. J. "Jerry" Pennington, died in a boating accident off Whidbey Island in 1985. The Penningtons, married for 41 years, had four children.

Family members remember her as elegant yet fun-loving, proper yet "just a touch on the irreverent side," said Merry, who is married to Mrs. Pennington-Medina's daughter Susan.

"She was known for her ready smile and a wit that gently exposed the foibles and conceits of people in high places," Merry said, recalling that his mother-in-law joined the whimsical anti-development organization Lesser Seattle, even as Pennington was promoting development.

Pennington and Medina were acquaintances through Rotary and because both lived on Magnolia before Medina moved to Whidbey Island and became sheriff.

He was on duty the day Pennington drowned, and helped counsel Mrs. Pennington-Medina after her loss.

Over the course of five years, "We went from counselor to friendship to I proposed marriage," he said.

"It was a great marriage, based on good times, on laughter, on understanding. I have never been with someone so easy to get along with. She was the best thing that ever happened to me."

Mrs. Pennington-Medina was born July 26, 1923, in Tacoma and grew up in Morton and Eatonville. She attended the University of Washington and received an undergraduate degree from Central Washington College of Education, then taught school in Seattle until her marriage to Pennington in 1944.

Mrs. Pennington-Medina was diagnosed with cancer two years ago but remained active up until her death, Medina said.

In September, the couple took Bob and Susan Merry boating through the San Juan Islands. Just last month, the two of them traveled to Hawaii, Mrs. Pennington-Medina's oxygen tanks in tow.

"She had the same great time she always did," he said.

Janet Hammack, Pennington's executive assistant, remembers her as a voracious collector with a huge collection of cookbooks.

And while she grew roses with Medina, she raised orchids during her marriage to Pennington. "She had a huge orchid collection," Hammack said. "Jerry even had a hothouse built for her."

In addition to Medina, Mrs. Pennington-Medina is survived by sons, Scott Pennington of Spokane, and Steven Pennington of Mill Creek; daughters, Susan Merry and her husband, Robert Merry, of McLean, Va., and Sally Ringman and her husband, Steve Ringman, of Issaquah; three grandsons; and four granddaughters.

Services will be at 10:30 a.m. Monday at University Congregational Church.