William J. Pennington, a retired telephone company worker and avid golfer, died Wednesday of lung cancer at Gilchrist Center for Hospice Care in Towson. He was 80.

Mr. Pennington, who lived in his Phoenix home until a day before his death, was a Baltimore native and a technical school graduate. He served in the Coast Guard as a machinist mate, second class, aboard a weather ship in the Aleutian Islands during World War II.

After his discharge, he spent 35 years working for the former Chesapeake & Potomac Telephone Co. as a private branch exchange installer, retiring in 1983 to indulge in his passion for golf.

During his retirement years, he worked as a starter for golf courses in Baltimore and Harford counties.

"It was his form of relaxation," said his son, Steve Pennington of Phoenix. "He just liked the fresh air and being outdoors and able to forget about everything else."

Mr. Pennington also loved to garden.

In 1943, he married Evelyn Anderson, who died in 1990.

A funeral Mass will be offered at 10 a.m. today at St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church, 101 Church Lane in Cockeysville.

In addition to his son, Mr. Pennington is survived by a daughter, Jenny Young of Phoenix; a sister, Peggy Bosse of Pasadena; a brother, John Pennington of Towson; and two grandchildren.