“The living owe it to those who no longer can speak to tell their story for them.” ― Czesław Miłosz MY BROTHER DENNIS Dennis enjoyed his simple life, especially his animals, gardens, woods, his bulldozer and what he created with wood – from miniature to magnificent, functional to elegant, roughhewn to polished. Sharing his homemade maple syrup, dilly beans, beautiful organic vegetables, free range happy hens’ eggs and freshly dug clams with so many around him was the rule. When he actually sold his eggs, it was often for a pay-what-you-can price, and he donated to the community as well. As Aaron also pointed out, he could build, restore or repair anything, and in any weather! It was Dennis’s routine to plow, clean off and warm the home vehicles on cold winter mornings and tend to the animals before leaving for work, which often started very early in Portland where he worked for a number of years converting old office buildings in the Old Port, or sea captain houses on the Eastern Prom, into upscale apartments or condos (pics in Gallery). At other times throughout his career he was a one-man demo & construction crew. One example: Except for Marty’s help setting the 32’ steel I-beam (pics in Gallery), Dennis single handedly built us a 2-story addition that virtually doubled the size of our house. He enjoyed a good construction challenge! A couple years ago he plotted his strategy, built an original ramp & platform, strap & harness apparatus and replaced a full size, ONE-PIECE acrylic tub & shower unit in my relatively small L-shaped bathroom without enlarging the door frame, removing the 48” vanity or damaging drywall. Anyone in the trade will appreciate what a remarkable feat that was! There were crossed fingers, prayers and cheers over that phase of the project! In recent years when possible he picked jobs that allowed him to set his own schedule so he could get his garden in, or leave by 4pm to take care of his dogs, shop and start dinner before his wife got home from work. He kept his mother AND mother-in-law snow plowed, shoveled, sanded and stocked with tidy baskets of kindling wood for many years. He kept windows and doors screened or stormed. He kept water pumps pumping and hand rails standing. No one person among us will ever know how often he gave assistance and how many acts of generosity Dennis carried out around him all the time. He was an avid fan of Celtics and Patriots alike and contentedly watched televised games at home when that was possible. He may have missed watching Super Bowl 49 on TV but at our little Super Bowl party, he was immediately and unanimously given credit for “inspiring” Malcolm-I-just-had-a-vision-that-I-was-going-to-make-a-big-play-Butler’s one of the greatest plays in Super Bowl history! One of Dennis and George’s [#1 dog of all] favorite snacks to share was crackers ‘n cheese. Reid charmed his way into that action too. No trip to Sam’s Club was complete without a big slab of sharp cheddar and a quick stop elsewhere for Town House Originals. Dennis loved all his family, was quietly so proud of his sons, and admired and respected his wife’s career path. He craved peace and tranquility which he surely found in his gardens, in his woods, on the land left to him by his father (of which his desire to eventually share with his own two sons was well known). However, consistent, reasoned serenity as a lifestyle remained elusive. In his 40’s and 50’s, Dennis’s [non-political] “Don’t tread on me” spirit remained intact, but was often purposely trumped by his determined efforts to promote harmony in his environment… a testament to what he came to view as compellingly important in life. Had he lived longer, I really think he would have figured it out. Upon receiving the catastrophic diagnosis of lung cancer Dennis began a silent, ambitious, determined campaign to survive. He read everything he could get his hands on, changed his diet, changed his lifestyle, followed doctor’s orders, learned about his medications, always did everything he could for himself, remained active even when it hurt to take a step. He plugged away at his daily list of self-assigned chores until he became too weak to do so. Above all he kept hope alive in spite of the cruel negativity he faced from multiple directions. How profoundly disappointing and painful it was for Dennis and all who loved him that the path of destruction would not veer. With each devastating blow of bad news, and for his remaining days, Dennis showed fortitude and grace and an overwhelming energy to protect his loved ones from knowing of his true suffering, physical, emotional or psychological. It was strength beyond my experience. Who knew he possessed such courage? I am so genuinely lucky to have spent as much time as I did with Dennis the last few years. There were multiple time periods I got to see him every day. He worked on my house and later on I kept him company while he worked on staying alive. We did chores at our mother’s house. We talked on the phone a LOT. We laughed. We commiserated. Then, too soon, it was appointments appointments appointments. We cried a little but usually not both at the same time. In silent times, if I accidentally found myself grief-stricken, he would come up with these side-splitting accounts of the most mundane events, turning my sad tears into we-laughed-til-we-cried tears. I shared a special bond with Dennis, as did many others of which he truly cared. We had a sibling alliance of mutual respect, fondness, loyalty and trust. I just can’t believe he is gone. I grieve his loss from our world and even more I grieve for his untimely loss… of everything he still wanted to do. I cherish that he is, as they say, in a better place. I rejoice in his new freedom from mortal confinement and his wielding of youthful vitality, mature wisdom and being at one with all the good and the love that come to him. Going forward I will try to put to use those subtle little suggestions he offered, custom made as they were to apply to my life… from time management[!] to kitchen renovation, creative storage solutions to innumerable topics philosophical… tidbits and gems of good advice from my BIG little brother. I will honor him by remembering him always. ---Gail