Ronald 'Gene' Dennis

RONALD (Gene) E. DENNIS

Nov. 8, 1933 - Jan. 9, 2020

 

Dr. Ronald (Gene) Eugene Dennis, D.O., was born in Weleetka, Oklahoma to parents Jack and Bobbie Dennis, and grew up in nearby Okmulgee.

 

Gene passed away peacefully, surrounded by loved ones, in Cottonwood, Arizona on January 9, 2020.

 

Gene graduated with honors from Kansas City Osteopathic College in 1958.  He interned in Oklahoma Osteopathic Hospital in Tulsa; went into general practice in Pryor, Oklahoma; and later undertook a residency in eye, ear, nose and throat in Dayton, Ohio.  Upon completion, he moved his family to Tucson where he opened a specialty practice for 20 years, eventually limited to ophthalmology.

 

Dr. Dennis was a former president of the Arizona Osteopathic Association and the board of trustees for Tucson General Hospital; also interim administrator for two years, plus chair of multiple professional committees.  Following retirement, Gene acted as medical consultant to the Board of Osteopathic Examiners in Phoenix until relocating to Camp Verde, Arizona, where he lived for 20 years up until remarriage to Carol and a move to Sedona (VOC).

 

Wife, Carol Keefer; four daughters, Karen Wedding, Kelli Garcia, and Karol McWilliams, of Tucson and Kristin Smith of Pittsfield, Massachusetts; two stepchildren; nine grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren survive Gene.  Although not Catholic, he regularly attended St. John Vianney's with his wife.

 

Gene loved to sing and had a beautiful voice.  He served as an archeology volunteer for years, earning him, along with others, an international award for recordings of petroglyphs and pictographs.  Fort Dennis, located near Camp Verde, an ancient Indian site that he discovered, was named in his honor.  He was a fabulous cook, had a strong aptitude for repairing things, loved to tell jokes and tease, and had a gentle heart, an easy-going manner.  He touched the lives of many.

 

There will be a Christian funeral service at 11 AM on Saturday, January 18, 2020, at Greer's Mortuary of Sedona in West Sedona; burial to follow at All Souls Cemetery in Cottonwood.

 

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Sedona Humane Society in his honor.