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On Tuesday, January 17th, 2023, Ret. LTC Dennis P. Denny, loving husband and father of six children, nine grandchildren, and three great grandchildren, passed away at the age of 74.

Dennis was born on March 6th, 1948 in Yakima, WA to Edwin (Buck) and Doris Denny. On January 17th, 1970 he married Teresa Jane Solga, his beloved wife of 51 years. Together they raised six children, Shannon, Jason, Kristin, Alicia, Matthew, and Shawn.

In 1971, Dennis received his degree from Gonzaga University in Spokane, WA. After college he joined the United States Army as an officer and spent the next 22 years serving his country and moving from place to place with his family. He was stationed in Colorado; Aschaffenburg, Germany; Kentucky, Idaho, Washington, South Korea, Kansas, Washington D.C., Heidelberg & Wiesbaden, Germany; Rhode Island, and finally back to Washington when he decided to retire in 1993. During this time he taught ROTC at Idaho State University, worked at the Pentagon in D.C., was Commander at Camp Perry in Wiesbaden, and attended the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island.

In 1995 he received his teaching degree from St. Martin’s University in Lacey, WA. He started teaching in 1996 at Chief Leschi Schools in Puyallup and then moved to Bethel School District at Frontier Junior High in 1998.  During his time there and at Liberty Middle School he served in many leadership positions and was an invaluable ally with administration as well as highly respected by staff.  Most of all, he was loved and respected by his many students. In spite of being older than most staff members, Dennis was quick to pick up new technology and was the ACT Lead both at Frontier and at Liberty.  He was one of the first two teachers hired to make up the Core Planning team of Liberty Middle School and much of the culture of Liberty is grounded in his work and ideas. In 2014, after 19 years of teaching, Dennis retired once again. A gentle giant, Dennis was beloved by staff and parents alike as someone they trusted and knew had their best interests at heart.

Dennis and Terry spent their retirement years camping with their children, visiting grandchildren across the state, traveling the country in their RV, taking cruises to Alaska, touring Canada and Hawaii, and relaxing on their dream property in Randle, WA.

When thinking of Dennis these words quickly come to mind: accomplished, supportive, empathic, compassionate, intelligent, humble, trustworthy, loving, dedicated, humorous, calm, and patient. A true rock to the family.

Dennis was preceded in death by his wife Terry, his sister’s Denise and Danielle, his father, Buck, and mother, Doris.  He is survived by his six children, Shannon, Jason, Kristin, Alicia, Matthew, and Shawn, his nine grandchildren Connor, Haley, Brandon, Liam, Isa, Cooper, Andrew, Eli, and Emmowyn, his three great grandchildren Kennedy, Kayden, and Ariah, his sister Diane, his nieces Danielle and Drew, and nephews Ed and Aaron.

A funeral service will be held on Friday, March 10th, 2023 at Woodlawn Funeral Home 5930 Mullen Road Southeast Lacey, WA at 1:00pm. A reception will follow immediately after. Flowers may be sent to the funeral home.