As the St. Thomas community prepares to honor the life of Francine Penn-Scipio, family members paused to reflect on a life of love and caring. Penn-Scipio — best known for the public Thanksgiving dinners she helped organize throughout the years — died Dec. 30 at age 72.
For decades in the heart of Charlotte Amalie, Penn-Scipio, along with husband Clarence Scipio, spread tables in Emancipation Garden with a feast to share with anyone who came. Hundreds of people from all walks of life accepted the invitation, making the Penn-Scipio feast a St. Thomas tradition. Four years after her husband’s death in 2021, Francine continued to serve the feast with support from volunteers and local organizations.
In an earlier time, Penn-Scipio joined forces with members of the Salvation Army who hosted the holiday spread for the less fortunate near the Rothschild Francis Square, also known as Market Square.
Daughter Dianne Morales, speaking to the Source one week later, said community service was a family value her mother embraced throughout a lifetime. “My mother always taught us that community was everything, and she got that from my grandmother,” Morales said.
Born on St. Thomas as the youngest of six daughters, Francine Penn graduated from Charlotte Amalie High School in 1970. While serving a feast in 2008, she credited her fondness for feeding others to a career in social work. “I simply like doing this,” she said. “People are lonely, they need company.”
The desire to fill that need and to serve the mentally ill took Penn-Scipio to St. Thomas’ Criminal Justice Complex as a prison minister. “My mother has done a lot besides the Thanksgiving dinners; her life was service,” Morales said.
With funeral services set for All Saints Cathedral on Jan. 30, Morales says she is still processing her loss. “She’s the first phone call I get in the morning; she’s the first text I’d get in the morning, and she did that with all her kids and grandkids,” Morales said.
But with that thought came a commitment on behalf of those Penn-Scipio left behind. “You can expect to see us next Thanksgiving doing the same thing in honor of my mother,” she said.
