You've put perfectly into words a thought that I've had for years but have never really expressed it exactly that way.  Pentes always profess that there's been a death bed conversion and the soul of a lost loved one was saved at the last possible moment.  I can't tell you the number of times I've heard that fairy tale!  And the opposite is also true, but usually involves an "evil one" who is not close to any pente member, i.e., the town gambler or town drunk.  And pentes DO have a particular gleam in their eye when they tell THAT fairy tale!!