Yvonne was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on September 19, 1953, to Wilbur William and Evelyn Travis Pennington. After the birth of her brother, the family moved to Little Rock, Arkansas, where Yvonne attended school and graduated from Metropolitan High School in 1971.  While at Metropolitan, Yvonne studied lithography; immediately upon graduation, Yvonne found employment in Little Rock as a graphic typesetter for General Publishing, Co.

In 1983, Yvonne married the love of her life—Jack "Red" Tuggle—and they soon moved to Hot Springs, whereupon Yvonne was hired as a typesetter for Wheeler Publishing.  She worked at Wheeler until her retirement in 2016.

Just a few months after she received her first social security check, Red tragically died of an aneurysm that left Yvonne a widow with the need for a new life plan. Thus, she threw herself into various duties at her beloved church, found a new part-time job at the Jackson House non-profit, sold her house, and moved to a smaller condo in Hot Springs.

In 2019, Yvonne was bedeviled with multiple complications arising from brain aneurysms that required surgery.  Close to death, Yvonne rallied from a poor prognosis and was able to return to her home to live independently after nine months of assisted living.  Her health continued to slowly fail, but Yvonne developed an incurable optimism that, along with her amazing wit and humor, allowed her to pass her final days with serenity.

Yvonne was preceded in death by her husband and parents. She is survived by her brother, Alan Pennington, and his sons Aaron and Emmett.

A memorial service in Yvonne's honor will be held at the Leonard Street Baptist Church 625 Leonard St. Hot Springs Ar. on Saturday, April 15. 2023. The family will receive visitors at 10:00 AM and the service will commence at 11:00 am.