MUNCIE, Ind. -- On cold, blustery afternoons at Ball State University home football games, Pennie Thomas made certain that photographers working on the camera deck had hot cocoa to keep warm.

As those same winds swept through the Ball State campus, university officials recalled the woman who served two terms on the Board of Trustees who died Tuesday at the age of 72 after a long struggle with cancer Thomas, a longtime civic leader, was first appointed to the board in 1990 and was known by administrators, faculty, staff and students for her tireless efforts on behalf of the university. Whether smuggling hot cocoa to photographers or providing directions to a lost student, she was always helpful.

"Ball State University and the Muncie community have lost a gracious lady, a tireless advocate and a dedicated servant of others," said Thomas L. DeWeese, president of the Board of Trustees. "Pennie Thomas singlehandedly made this a better place for many people and in the process made it a better place for everyone. She was the epitome of a selfless community volunteer, working on behalf of a good cause without any thought of reward or recognition.

Ball State President John E. Worthen called Thomas "a great lady."

"If we are fortunate in our lives, we will know at least one person like Pennie Thomas---a person who truly considers others first---a person who will do anything, go anywhere, give anything for others. The people of Ball State University, to whom she gave enormously of her time and energy, will be forever indebted. She made a difference in the life of this university and in her world."

Thomas, a native of Cairo, Ill., began her community involvement in Muncie in the early 1950s after moving to Indiana with her late husband Harvey, a graduate of the Indiana University Dental School.

During the last 40 years, she served as a board member of the YMCA, Muncie Civic Theater, Muncie Symphony Orchestra, Women’s Symphony League, Altrusa club, Art Alliance, Masterworks Chorale, Ball Memorial Hospital Auxiliary, Delaware County University Way and Minnestrista Cultural Center and Action for Animals.

She was a tireless volunteer worker for her church, Bethel African Methodist Episcopal, where she was known as "the flower lady." Thomas was active in fund drives for the Heart Association and served as a volunteer with the Ball State International Host Family Program, opening her home to 11 foreign students.

"Pennie was a wonderful example of leadership and thoughtfulness in developing the relationship between the community and the university," said David Bahlmann, president of the Ball State University Foundation. "She worked tirelessly to bridge the gap among all groups -- both rich and poor, and black and white."

Ball State honored Thomas last month with a Benny Award, presented by the Alumni Association to alumni and friends of the university who contributed outstanding service to the university. She was also honored as the Muncie’s First Lady in 1974 by Beta Sigma Phi sorority and was named one of the city’s most influential women in 1979.

Thomas earned a bachelor’s degree from Harris-Stowe Teachers College in St. Louis, Mo., and taught elementary school in St. Louis and Indianapolis before moving to Muncie. She received a master’s degree in elementary education from Ball State in 1961.

She was preceded in death by her husband in January 1998 and is survived by one daughter, Susan Eileen, three cats and "Rudy" her seventh-month-old Westie puppy.

Calling hours are from 4 to 9 p.m. Nov. 5 at Bethel AME Church, 1020 E. Jackson. Services are set for 2:30 p.m. Nov. 6 at the High Street United Methodist Church, 219 S. High St. with burial at Beech Grove Cemetery.

Memorial gifts may be made to the Ball State University Foundation, Bethel AME Church, the Delaware County Cancer Society, or the Little Red Door.