Penelope “Penny” Broderick Tierney passed away peacefully in her sleep on February 21, 2026. A fantastic mother and grandmother, a loving wife, and a passionate teacher, she was widely adored by her family, friends, and students.

Penny was born in 1945 in Queens, New York, to Geraldine and Anthony Broderick. She had an older brother (Anthony) and a younger sister (Christine). The family relocated to Levittown, New York, when she was five years old. She graduated from Island Trees High School, where she was the Vice President of the student government as well as Ms. Physical Fitness. In Levittown, she met James “Jim” Tierney, who would later become the love of her life.

Penny graduated from Island Trees in 1962 and attended SUNY Cortland, where she majored in physical education and began dating Jim. She and Jim married in 1967, after which they lived on Long Island in Wyandanch, and Penny taught PE at Half Hollow Hills High School. In 1970, they moved to Lake Ronkonkoma and bought their first house, a cozy family home where they raised their daughters and lived for 40 years. Their daughter, Cristin, was born in 1971, and Danielle was born in 1973. Penny earned her master's degree in liberal arts from SUNY Stony Brook while staying at home with their daughters. In 1979, she returned to teaching as a PE teacher at Cleary School for the Deaf. At Cleary, Penny learned American Sign Language (ASL) on the job and was a quick study. Before long, she was teaching night classes in ASL, where many of her students were family members of deaf children. Penny later moved into the classroom, teaching some of Cleary’s youngest students. After retiring from Cleary, she taught ASL at Commack High School and Suffolk Community College. Once fully retired, Penny and Jim sold their family home on Long Island and moved to Holmes Beach, Florida, where they lived their golden years to the fullest, playing pickleball, going to the beach, and watching the gorgeous array of coastal birds right outside their window. They later relocated to Mount Vernon in Bradenton, Florida, where they met lifelong friends and found even better views of the birds. Penny spent her time making pottery and jewelry, playing mahjong, and watching dolphins from her back door and fiery sunsets from the front door.

She is remembered for her world-class apple blackberry pie, a seriously silly sense of humor, her adoration for her grandchildren, an ability to make anyone feel like family the minute they walked into her house, and above all, her deep and abiding love for Jim, her best friend for life. In addition to Jim, she is survived by Cristin and Danielle, their husbands Jim Shapiro and Gavin Tabone, grandchildren Austin Shapiro and Abby Tabone, sister and brother-in-law Christine and George Von Kantor, nephew and niece Sean and Pia Broderick, and sisters-in-law Denise Tierney and Cecilia Flood.

The family wishes to extend its deepest gratitude to the outstanding staff at Tidewell Hospice, who provided Penny with compassionate and loving care during her final days. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to the Herrig Center for the Arts, located at 888 Third Avenue West, Bradenton, Florida 34205, herrigcenter.org. Pleasant dreams and happy faces in the morning, Mom, we love you!