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NASHVILLE (WTVF) — Always game to take on something new; that’s been the life story of Jenny Pankratz.
“Jenny, who’s your dad?” I asked her.
“Red Foley!” she answered.
First coming to Nashville to record in 1945, country and gospel artist Foley is an important part of what Nashville came to be. He shared country music with the world, touring with artists like Hank Williams. He recorded duets with artists including Ernest Tubb.
“One they might know because Elvis recorded it is Ole Shep!” Pankratz said, mentioning one of Foley’s songs.
There’s no collaborator Foley could have loved more than Pankratz and her sisters.
“The Foley Sisters!” Pankratz said. “He loved his girls. We didn’t have a career. We just had a daddy who liked to hear us sing!”
In fact, Pankratz and her sisters were sometimes invited up by their dad to sing at the Ryman Auditorium in the years it played host to the Grand Ole Opry.
“It would have been 1948-ish,” she remembered. “I was scared! Kinda like I’m starting to feel today!”
I never did say where I was talking to Pankratz.
“Jenny, what are you about to do?” I asked her.
“Jump out of an airplane,” she said, standing in the office of Go Skydive Nashville.
“Do you mind if I ask how old you are?” I asked.
“I’m 86.”
Pankratz and a granddaughter were minutes from their jump at Go Skydive Nashville.
After all, Pankratz spent her life taking part in things that’ll make great stories.
“It’s always nice when somebody recognizes daddy,” she nodded.
“What would he think of you doing this today?” I asked.
“I don’t know! Probably that I’m nuts.”
One time, Foley told Pankratz something about being on stage.
“He said even after all those years he sang, he still felt nervous!” Pankratz remembered. “I must get it from him!”
Even with the nerves, Foley still entered those stages just like Pankratz was about to exit a plane.
“Y’know. I just have for a long time thought about it, said it, then dismissed it, because I thought I’d never do it,” Pankratz remembered. “I decided I’m going to do it!”
From the Grand Ole Opry stage in 1948 to a leap in 2026, life sometimes presents adventures. Pankratz is always game to take on something new.
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