Valerie L. "Penny" Denny, (Kisik iskwew) "Sky Woman", 66, passed away due to natural causes at her residence on Monday, October 4, 2021.  Wake services will begin at 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday, October 5, 2021, and will continue until her funeral service, which will be at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, October 6, 2021, all at her residence on Buttercup Road.  Burial will follow in the Rocky Boy Cemetery.  Holland & Bonine Funeral Home has been entrusted with arrangements.

Penny was born on January 17, 1955, in Fort Belknap to Richard and Lorraine (Daychild) Denny.  She was raised in Helena, attending school there through elementary school.  She attended the Busby Girl's School in junior high, and Chiloco Indian High School in Oklahoma.  Following her high school years, she attended Montana State University in Bozeman and then Billings.  In 1974, Penny married Gerald Healy-Bear, and the couple had two children before later divorcing.  In 1981, she married Allen Potter, and they had a son before also divorcing.  She gave birth to her twin sons in 1987.  Penny began attending Stone Child College in 1997, graduating in 2001 with her Associate's degree with a major in teaching.  She then spent many years as a cultural consultant throughout the US and overseas.  She was also well-known for her beadwork across the US.

Penny was a very family-oriented woman who took many people as her children and grandchildren.  She was very accepting of all, and made many lifelong friends while she traveled for work and for fun.  She also enjoyed reading and playing on her tablet.  Penny was a member of the Native American Church of North America.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Richard and Lorraine Denny, and her aunt Patsy Raining Bird.

Penny is survived by her children, Sandra Healy of Miami, OK, Misty (Gerald Parker) Healy and Dylan Potter, all of Rocky Boy, Cedar and Jordan Denny of Grand Portage, MN, and Tara (Wabusk Ragged Robe) Topsky of Rocky Boy; sixteen grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; siblings, Richard Denny of Seattle, WA, Sandra Coonfare of Billings, Hank Bushman of Grand Portage, MN, Garren Denny of Rocky Boy, and James Daychild of Havre; and numerous aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews, and other extended family and friends.