My Uncle Dennis

My uncle Dennis passed away last Saturday evening.  We were absolutely shocked and devastated by the news and we still are.  Dennis has always been a favorite in the family.  He is beloved by everyone and always brought a smile to our faces when we were around him.  He had a great laugh and the best stories.  Dan and I had just been talking about how entertaining he was and so fun to be around.  He will be greatly missed and forever loved.

Our hearts ache for my Aunt Kathy, who has been with Dennis for over 40 years - since she was a teenager!  Their wedding was the first one I ever attended, when I was six!  They will always be one of my favorite couples, and they built an amazing family.  They have four handsome and wonderful boys - Justin, Jackson, Luke, and Jeremiah - who each remind me of their dad in different ways. It was so obvious to all of us how much he loved Kathy and their boys, and how very proud he was of each of them.  We have been sending countless prayers to them, and not a minute goes by that I don't think of them.  We can't wait to be able to give them the biggest hugs.

Dennis was one of my favorite people in the whole world.  I have so many wonderful memories of him that I will treasure forever.  I loved discussing Survivor with him, and Big Brother.  When Dan wanted to buy a mustang a few months before our wedding, I wasn't sure I liked the idea.  I will never forget Dennis encouraging me to be supportive.  He said, "It's best for him to buy it now before you have kids!"

Here he is at my wedding and then with me at the wedding of his oldest son, Justin, last June.  I will be forever grateful to have been a part of Justin and Christine's wedding.  The memories and photos I have of Dennis from that wonderful weekend, are ones I will always cherish.

My uncle Dennis has been in my life since the moment I was born.  When my mom was pregnant with me, Dennis was taking my aunt Kathy to her high school prom!  And when I was born, and my dad held my brother Shane up to see me in the nursery, Dennis was right next to them, and I love that!  He was about to turn 23.  Our birthdays are just days apart in May.  In fact, I have the note he wrote me for my birthday two weeks ago, and on his birthday I wrote on his Facebook page, "Happy birthday to a wonderful uncle!  We love you!"  Oh how I will miss his Facebook posts, which were always so entertaining!  He was always posting photos of his loved ones.

I will always remember him drawing me a Baby Dodd poster - my favorite cabbage patch character!  It was so thoughtful of him, and so sweet to see him drawing with Tyler at my parents' house so many years later.  As we've been going through family pictures, I have been so thankful for all the fun gatherings at my parents' house that allowed us all to be together.

I am the worst videographer.  All of these videos from Justin and Christine's rehearsal dinner either start too late or end too early.  But they still help me to remember the wonderful stories that Dennis and Kathy shared.  All I have to do is close my eyes, and I can picture Dennis and hear his voice, and it brings comfort.  I feel the same way about my Grannie, who loved Dennis so much.  I have no doubt that they are now reunited in heaven, where they are smiling down at us and watching over us.

When we lose loved ones, I often look to the sky.  I took all of these photos this past week.

I thought this looked like a Dennis angel.

We will love and miss Dennis forever, and we feel incredibly blessed to have had him in our lives.  He will forever be in our hearts.