Danniel Dennis

Dr. Danniel Stewart Dennis, 93, of Alpine, Utah, formerly of Roosevelt, died peacefully of causes incident to age at his home on Saturday April 9, 2016 surrounded by many loving family members. Dr. Dan, as he was known, was born August 22, 1922 in Roosevelt, Duchesne County, Utah to Wallace Hyrum Dennis and Gladys Thelma Stewart. He had one older brother, Howard Norman Dennis, and two younger siblings, Marjorie Diane Dennis and Wallace Hyrum Dennis Jr. His parents and siblings preceded him in death. Dan married Joyce Rigby in the Salt Lake LDS temple on September 10, 1947. They have enjoyed over 68 years together as husband and wife and are the parents of seven children: Rosalie (Sherman) Young, LaDonne Loveday, Cynthia Knight, Mark (Ronda) Dennis, Blaine (Carolyn) Dennis, Deborah (David) Lind, Amelia (Michael) Cowan. His posterity now includes 36 grandchildren, 57 great grandchildren, 2 great-great grandchildren. He was preceded in death by grand-daughters Mandi Lynn Dennis, Celeste Loveday and Chaleese Young. His boyhood home was in Myton, Utah. He attended schools there and in Roosevelt where he graduated from high school. He attended Utah State Agricultural College (now Utah State University) until he enlisted as a pilot during World War II in 1942 where he flew a cargo plane over "the Hump" in the China-India-Burma theater. After the war, he returned to complete his bachelor's degree at the AC, where he met Joyce. Following their marriage, he attended Colorado State University where he received a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree. He took a commission as a veterinarian during the Korean War and served at Ethan Allen Air Force Base in Burlington, Vermont. When his service ended, he joined a veterinary practice in Idaho Falls, for a short time then returned to his beloved Uintah Basin and started his own veterinary practice in 1954. His practice stretched from Jensen to Fruitland and from Mountain Home to Ouray, Utah. Dan always loved the out of doors; he enjoyed hunting and fishing, the beauties of nature, and treated it with respect because he knew the Creator of it all. As a child, he lived on South Myton bench in the days of horse and buggy, no rural electricity, and the pot-bellied stove, but lived to see space exploration, advances in medical care, and instant communication around the world. He was no stranger to hard work, but he enjoyed work and serving people no matter their circumstances. He lived through the Depression in meager circumstances and lived the adage, "use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without" throughout his life. He loved learning, reading good books, and had a keen mind and intellect. He lost his Brother, Howard, in a tragic airplane crash at the end of his sophomore year of veterinary school. Dan was a family man. He loved his wife, children, and grandchildren. His influence made his family feel "safe" when they were at home. He often took the kids on veterinary calls. He attended their activities and supported them in all their church and school activities. He loved babies, and the miracle of birth. He took his family to get wood, on deer hunts and picnics. He led in family prayer and family nights and cared for his parents and extended family. Danniel was converted to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints after pondering his wartime and other life experiences and was baptized by his brother Howard in December 1946. He remained an active member of the Church throughout his life and served as bishop, temple sealer, stake patriarch and home teacher among his many callings. He and Joyce also served as LDS missionaries in the California San Bernardino Mission. He was elected to the Roosevelt City Council and then in 1967 to the Utah State Legislature where he served 6 terms. While there, he was instrumental in acquiring funding for the Utah State University Extension in the Uintah Basin and the Uintah Basin Applied Technology College in Roosevelt and the conference room at there was named in his honor in 2015. He was a member of the Cattleman's Association for many years.

Because of his wife's health, and her inability to travel, there will be a memorial service on Friday, April 22, 2016, at 10:00 a.m. at their senior living residence, River Meadows Senior Living, 134 Red Pine Dr., Alpine, UT. Seating is limited so if possible, please attend the funeral services in Roosevelt.

Funeral services will be on Saturday April 23, 2016, at 11:00 a.m. in the Roosevelt LDS Stake Center, 447 East Lagoon Street. Visitation will be Friday April 22, 2016 from 6-8 p.m. at Hullinger Mortuary, 457 E 300 N and at the church from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. prior to the service.

Burial will be in the Roosevelt Memorial Park. Military honors will be presented by the Roosevelt American Legion and the Utah National Guard.

Memorial donations can be made to the general scholarship funds at the USU Uintah Basin Campus (www.usu.edu/giving then select Regional Campus-Distance Education, Uintah Basin Campus) or Uintah Basin Applied Technical College by contacting the administration.