Former Indianapolis Star journalist Diana Penner dies at 59

Diana Penner, a former, long-time Indianapolis Star journalist, died Feb. 6 at her home in Indianapolis at age 59. She died of natural causes, said her brother, Michael Penner. A memorial service will be held at a later date.

Diana Penner was born in Berlin, Germany, in 1958. Her father was in the U.S. military, and the family lived in various European cities until 1976, when they moved to the U.S. and Penner entered Southern Illinois University. 

In her time with the Star, from 1992 to 2014, Penner wrote about a range of topics including crime, education and medical issues.

She witnessed the 2001 execution of Timothy McVeigh, the Oklahoma City bomber who, Penner observed, died with his eyes open. "He gulped, blinked and took several deep breaths," Penner reported. "He closed his eyes momentarily, which was perhaps a slow blink, and exhaled so that his cheeks puffed. If McVeigh was breathing, it was imperceptible. His eyes became unfocused, glassy."

Her most memorable work was a series she did in 2005 about an Afghan child named Qudrat Wardak. Born with a life-threatening heart defect, Qudrat was barely a year old when he was brought from Afghanistan to Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis for surgery.

Penner spent weeks on the story. She was drawn to children. She did not have her own, but she doted on her colleagues', often taking time to chat with them when they visited the newsroom. "She made a quilt for (my daughter) Grace when she was born," said John O'Neill, a friend and former Star staffer, "and I know she did that kind of thing for other people."

Kim Hooper, who also worked with Penner at the Star, called her "one of those rare breeds who believes God created all of us good. She tried to see the good in most of us."

"The first story I remember her doing was the city’s annual vigil for homeless people who had died," said Martha Allan, another former Star colleague. "She didn’t just report it, she humanized it and put the homeless problem in context."

Penner loved animals, too, and at times had a dog and at least one cat. 

"The thing about Diana," said another colleague, Marc Allan, "was that when she was in, she was all-in. She was a super-empathetic person. She was at the hospital every day checking on (Qudrat)."

Penner became absorbed in that story. Her newsroom conversation became Qudrat-centric, as then-managing editor Pam Fine reported in a message to Star readers at the time: "'He sat up today,' reporter Diana Penner said to me Thursday as we passed each other in the newsroom. 'He gurgled for the first time in front of me,' she said."

Qudrat's surgery was risky. But it worked. "Afghan boy making quick recovery," said a Star headline. Another one said, "Journey of hope: signs look good; Qudrat 'looks great.'"

"In his hospital room before he was formally released, we played," Penner wrote. "And for the first time, I held him in my arms. He was still tiny but looked and felt more robust than he had before the surgery. He made his Elvis face: a crinkled nose and curled-lip smile."

Soon Qudrat and his family were heading back home to Afghanistan. Penner stayed with the story. She went to Afghanistan to record the happy return.

Then, suddenly, just two days later, Qudrat inexplicably died.

"I've been a working journalist for 25 years and have covered many, many sad stories," Penner wrote. "There have been times when tears have come to my eyes. But I have never felt the physical pain that seared me when I heard, in a news conference, that Qudrat was dead."

But Penner was a professional, and two days later she turned the tragedy into a thoughtful analysis of the U.S. military's new, more open approach to grieving. Her lead: "Desert camouflage doesn't hide tears."

Penner is survived by her brother and her mother Lieselotte Penner, both of North Carolina.

Contact Star reporter Will Higgins at (317) 444-6043. Follow him on Twitter @WillRHiggins.