Panting was the longtime head of the department of history at Memorial University, until 1976, and founder of the university's Maritime History Group and was the author of texts on maritime shipping and shipbuilding.
A dedicated party builder, Panting remained active within the NDP until his death in 1998.
He became head of the history department, a position he held until 1976, and oversaw its expansion from five to 25 professors.
He continued teaching at the university until his retirement in 1994, when he was diagnosed with bowel cancer.
[1] His son, Sean Panting, is an actor who ran for the Newfoundland NDP in 2015.