Penny James was born in Colorado. As a young child, she spent every summer on a ranch looking out on the Sangre de Christo Mountains, where she had a front row seat viewing wild an...view morePenny James was born in Colorado. As a young child, she spent every summer on a ranch looking out on the Sangre de Christo Mountains, where she had a front row seat viewing wild animals that would wander past the windows of her grandmother's homestead. Love of nature and a passion for animals never left her. She became Miss Colorado in 1962 and later enjoyed a modeling career spanning 11 years with both Wilhelmina and Eileen Ford in New York City. Before she passed away in 2019, Penny designed beds made from trees and had a gallery in Shohola, Pennsylvania, dedicated to people and animals that need help.view less