From Terry & Shirley O'Donnell

Terry O'Donnell is one of Dad's first cousins. "Uncle Terry and Aunt Shirley" are great fun and we have many fond memories with them. Here is what they have to say about Dad:

Molly, I have a couple of favorite recollections of your father that bring a smile to my face during this time of sorrow.
Whenever we had a telephone conversation, I learned that it would never be short, concise or to the point.  Over time I learned that to successfully complete a conversation with Dennis I had to be sufficiently rested, have snack bars at hand, a cup of coffee (with possible refills) and a bladder the size of an elephant's.  At times I wished I had "music on hold" so I could escape to the restroom with some dignity.  All our conversations were memorable and I will miss them.
I also remember that Dennis would eat anything, a true international gastronome, as long as he could smother it in ketchup.  And in the early days of long drives across the country, as long as he had a case of Coke in the car, he could go anywhere non-stop.
Life is beautiful in simple ways, a great family, good friends, a strong faith, and a case of Coke and a case of ketchup in the trunk.

Note from Shirley:  I will always remember your dad and your mom as the consummate hosts.  When we would visit the O'Donnell home we always felt that we were the center of their attention.  That's not easy to do when you have a house full of people.

Also, Terry and I now have an appreciation of what Dennis did as a career.  We recently (two weeks ago) were in Arizona and we visited the Titan Missile Museum in Tucson, Arizona. They took us down into the silo and the whole time we were listening to the presentation we thought of Dennis and what a major responsibility he had in his job.  We are oh so thankful that he never had to activate one of those big boys!!

You are all in our thoughts and prayers as you go through this difficult time.  May the Good Lord take away his suffering.

Terry and Shirley O'Donnell