Dennis Martin Wolf – known around town as Den, Wolfie, or Wennis – passed away on Sunday, September 28, 2014 while at morning coffee with friends at Shorty’s Corner. Thought to be faking sleep (a prank he was well-known for), it is suspected that he succumbed to a heart attack. He was 66 years old – or, as he preferred to say, 39 for the 27th time.
After graduating from Sandy High in ’66, he served in the Army and was stationed in Germany, where he decided that he hated Italy. Upon his honorable discharge, he returned to Sandy and held numerous jobs over the years, each vastly different from the last: Police officer, salesman, mail carrier, school bus driver, travel agent. To his chagrin, however, it was his exceptional work as a general contractor that sustained him. It took its toll on him, but he was damn good at it, and if you needed something – anything – built, repaired, improved, or improvised, Dennis was your man.
He also excelled at breakfast for dinner – crepes were his specialty – as well as dancing (he could two-step ‘til dawn), singing (Elvis, mostly, but a little Patsy Cline and Charlie Daniels thrown in for good measure), and leaving the world’s longest voicemail messages. He loved hunting, tinkering, woodworking, Westerns, The King, apple pie, the occasional ice cream cone for breakfast, and the comfort of a good routine, like visiting his kids and grandkids on Wednesdays, weekly movies with his sister and TV show viewings with friends, and, of course, his morning coffee. He despised vegetables, cats, and wearing his top set of dentures. Also, vegetables. Did we mention vegetables?
Dennis was a loving son to his folks George and Maxine – who passed in 2001 and 2011, respectively – and who he missed every day. His own legend and legacy lives on through the family he now leaves behind: The daughters he adored, Melissa and Rochelle, who take no pleasure in finally getting in the last “Love you more”; his four grandchildren, who will miss Grandpa’s goofiness; his younger siblings, Darlene and Steven, who are, at the very least, happy that he is reunited with Mom and Dad; and, finally, the many, many friends who had the privilege of knowing him. He was a smart, sweet, kind, generous, loyal, and quirky man who gladly shared his time and talents with many, and he is already missed dearly.
A service celebrating Dennis’s life will be held at the Sandy Funeral Home on Monday, October 13, 2014 at 10am. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you make a donation to the Sandy Volunteer Fire Department or the Sandy Mountain Festival, two organizations that he loved and supported over the years.
Or you could just get yourself a nice big slice of apple pie, turn on some Elvis, and enjoy both in his honor. He’d like that just fine, too.