Dave was born in September 1941, the eldest son of Earl and Esther Pauline Dennis, who had migrated to Los Angeles from Oklahoma during the Dust Bowl migration in the late 1930’s. Earl made furniture and worked as a tool and die maker during the war, and it was a modest but loving household. Pauline, a third generation descendent of “Journeycake,” was part of a Delaware Indian Tribe royalty bloodline. Dave was the first of his family to attend college, starting at Long Beach State and then Compton College. After a rough start that included regular road trips to Las Vegas, a summer in Europe and a back injury from football, Dave began to apply himself and excel. Dave wound up paying his was through USC business school by working various jobs, most notably night shifts as a repo man on the streets of Compton, and wielding a large, heavy flashlight that also served for self-defense.
MBA in hand, Dave took a job at McDonald Douglas, where he met his future wife and lifetime partner Carol. After getting married in 1967, Dave took an accounting job with Coopers & Lybrand and the couple had sons Mark and Adam in 1969 and 1972. Dave accepted a transfer to Denver with Coopers and Lybrand in 1974, and the family struck out East for Denver. The family home was established in Southmoor Park, Denver, which is still owned by the family to this day. Daughter and youngest child Sarah was later born in 1977, and the family was complete.
Disillusioned with the workload and lack of work-life-balance at Coopers and Lybrand, Dave soon established his own accounting practice. Starting from scratch in a new town was a challenge and money was tight, but Dave eventually got traction, most notably taking a call on Christmas Eve that turned into a large and valuable project helping Native American Indian tribes (Bureau of Indian Affairs) throughout the West. Dave grew the practice in tax and consulting and eventually entered into a partnership with other accountants in Denver.
During those years, Dave made meaningful and selfless contributions to the Denver community, including serving on the Boards of many non-profits and sitting a term as President of University Hills Rotary Club and later transferred Rotary Club of Denver. Dave achieve the title of Paul Harris Fellow supporting the Rotary International Program.
Dave wound up walking away from the accounting partnership in the 1980’s and established Dennis & Company PC at 1801 S Broadway, downtown Denver in a suite shared with attorneys. The attorneys would walk into his office scratching their heads about difficult accounting problems, including bankruptcy and restructuring scenarios. Operating without a mentor or clear roadmap, Dave dug in, performed the research, and solved the problems, eventually becoming one of the most experienced bankruptcy taxation experts in Colorado. Dave’s bankruptcy clients remember his work fondly, most notably his focus on always helping and serving the clients. Dave would get his hands dirty and do whatever needed to be done, including jumping in the car or hopping on a plane and wading through mountains of messy paperwork.
Eldest son Mark returned from Europe shortly after the tragic passing of Adam in April 2011 and took over Dennis & Company PC, which combined with a larger accounting firm in 2020. Dave was a constant source of inspiration and guidance throughout his life. He was an invaluable resource for Sarah as she established and operated a home healthcare business on the western slope, and he served as “Senior Advisor” to Mark - solving complex accounting problems as long as he could, until his advancing cancer prevented him from doing so shortly before he passed.
Throughout his life, Dave valued family above all else and worked hard to instill the values of Christianity and the church, like his brother Ron and his wife Lynn (who were Bible Linguist in Honduras for 30 years and continue to support communities there to this day). Dave, Carol and all three kids were baptized together in front of the congregation at Christ Community Church in the late 1970’s.
Dave was an amazing father, fully invested and supportive of each achievement, sports event and business endeavor along the way. At the same time, he brought optimism and fun, never turning down a warm chocolate chip cookie or ice cream cone. He also had a passion for golf, joining Denver’s Los Verdes in the 1980’s and then Pinehurst Country Club, which he continued to play regularly until he could swing a club no longer. Dave instilled that same passion in his two sons, which is now being passed down to the next generation.
The loss of our patriarch David Dennis is a shock to us all and it will take time for us to heal and find a way to replace his guidance, his love, and his wisdom. His spirit is now alongside his dear son Adam’s, and together these two Native American “old souls” will be with us always.
In lieu of flowers a donate can be to Rotary International in Dave’s memory: www.rotary.org/en/donate
To send flowers or plant a tree in memory of David Eugene Dennis, visit the Tribute Store.
7
Sep
10150 East Belleview Avenue
Englewood, CO 80111
