Dawn Penso

Dawn Ann Penso, 26, passed away on January 4, 2024 following a car accident. Dawn was born 1997 in Fort Meyers, Florida. She grew up in Taos, New Mexico, where she touched numerous lives and made lifelong friendships.  Dawn graduated from the Taos Charter School and Taos High School, before attending Williams College for her undergraduate degree. Dawn had recently returned to Taos and was excited to reconnect with the land that inspired and rooted her. We remember Dawn by her joyfulness, her radiant smile, and her incredible talents. She was an acclaimed soccer player who achieved a position on the Region IV Olympic Development Team and played on the Williams College NCAA Division III team. While on the team, Williams won the national championship in 2015 and 2017. Dawn was also a passionate artist whose gifts extended to multiple genres. She was a skilled and whimsical illustrator, a student of art history, and a multi-instrumental musician. She was a polyglot, a passionate bookworm, and a deeply spiritual woman who never stopped seeking answers to life’s hardest questions. With her curious and open-minded nature, Dawn traveled to multiple countries and lived in Spain and Georgia. Dawn’s friends and communities were numerous, and we are each indelibly shaped by her profound presence in our lives. She taught us the importance of tenderness, community-based care, and that it is our relationships and our ability to love that make life meaningful. Dawn is survived by her parents (Kelly Auers and Jan Penso), her brother (Patrick), her grandfather (Denny), numerous cousins, and her many friends and loved ones.

There will be a memorial service for Dawn on Friday, January 12, 2024 from 4:00-6:00pm MT at Bataan Hall (120 Civic Plaza Dr, Taos, NM 87571). For those unable to attend in person, a livestream will be accessible at umich.zoom.us/j/96703300929. Passcode for Zoom link is Dawnasaur

Arrangements by Rivera Family Funeral Home. To share a memory, please visit our website at www.riverafuneralhome.com