By Lauren FitzPatrick
Staff writer
Bill Pennington was a man of science, the kind who was quizzical, practical and for the most part, self-made.
The high school graduate — and son of a science teacher — tinkered and futzed, futzed and tinkered, and in no time, he could fix just about anything.
His work at General Motors in the late 1980s helped make seat belts more comfortable to wear — and thereby more effective — “back when seat belts were first coming around and nobody wore them,” said his daughter Cassandra Pennington.
The safety belt motion detectors he helped design and innovate also earned him several patents.
And he learned mechanics simply by playing around with things until they worked the way he wanted, Pennington said.
“He just picked it up pretty good,” she said.
William James Pennington died March 6 at St. James Hospital in Chicago Heights after several heart attacks. He was 44.
Born April 22, 1960, at Ingalls Hospital in Harvey, Mr. Pennington was one of four children. Growing up, he read science fiction, listened to Pink Floyd and graduated from Homewood-Flossmoor High School in 1978.
He took a few courses at Prairie State but soon married and had a family.
So he did what he did best: He got a job in drafting and design to help make things work better.
“He rigged things up all the time,” Pennington said. “He was always rebuilding or changing things.”
In the late 1980s when seat belt laws were coming into effect, he was charged at General Motors with making them more comfortable. There he helped develop motor sensors that made the belts adjust in small movements when the driver or passenger shifted in the seat.
It made people want to wear them because they weren’t too tight or too slack anymore, Pennington said.
He also was handy around the house. One of his most recent projects was to stack a washer on top of a dryer, and fitting them — via the side wall — into a hall linen closet, Pennington said.
“It fit — kind of,” she said. And it made the appliances more convenient to use, she said.
Mr. Pennington had rigged a motor onto the bicycle he rode to work to make his five-minute commute more pleasant, she said.
Perhaps because he grew up with a science teacher for a father, Mr. Pennington shared his tinkering with his children.
“He wouldn’t just fix my truck,” his daughter said. “He’d show me how to do it.”
Mr. Pennington always loved science fiction, whether reading books or watching television shows. He was a giant fan of British galaxy traveler Dr. Who.
He also liked the strategy behind chess.
In recent years, Mr. Pennington moved to Park Forest and took a job as a maintenance man for Thorncreek Townhomes in Park Forest.
He fixed heaters and refrigerators and anything else that broke in the co-op.
“It’ll take two people to replace him,” his boss told Pennington.
Mr. Pennington also is survived by a son, James William Pennington; his fiancee, Stacey Eliason; parents James W. & Edna M. Pennington; sisters, Nancy Jensen and Susan Gasquet; brother, Dave Pennington; and many nieces and nephews, aunts, uncles and cousins.
Arrangements are by the Cremation Society of Illinois, (800) 622-8358.
Visitation is scheduled for at 1 p.m. today at Hope Lutheran Church, 424 Indianwood Blvd., Park Forest, followed by a memorial service at 3 p.m.
Donations may be made to the American Heart Association, 3816 Paysphere Circle, Chicago, IL 60674.
Lauren FitzPatrick may be reached at lfitzpatrick@dailysouthtown.com or (708) 633-5964.
