Dennis E. Kenna

Dennis Edward Kenna was born on November 24, 1942 at Cook County Hospital in Chicago to Oren Alva Kenna and Anna Swogger Kenna. Dennis has one older brother, Craig Kenna, who predeceased Dennis, as did his parents. He lived with his parents and brother in Glencoe, Illinois, until he was five years old. His family moved to Grand Junction, Colorado, where Dennis and Craig had plenty of room to run and play together along with their beloved dog, Boots. Dennis had many happy memories from the time they lived in Grand Junction. One of the best was his mother’s peach pies. As a young adolescent in the 1950’s, his family moved to Las Vegas in its beginning heyday. The strip was a gravel road where Dennis and his friends rode dirt bikes out to the desert. He was almost killed at the age of sixteen when he rode his dirt bike into a barbed wire cable which cut open his neck. His friends drove him to a hospital where he received numerous stitches; he still had a long arrow shaped scar across his neck and shoulders when he passed on May 16, 2021. After dirt bikes, he then developed a lifelong passion for cars. His first car was a 1939 Chevrolet of which he was very proud. He could name the year and model of any car from those early decades. In his lifetime, Dennis owned a 1959 El Camino, two Mercedes Benz, a Thunderbird, and two Porsches. In later years, he drove Hondas and ended with a Toyota Prius. He had a paper route as a young adolescent and later worked as a busboy at the Sands Hotel. He saw many movie stars including Elvis Presley, who he spoke with briefly when they met. Dennis was an excellent pool player during this time, which he learned in North Las Vegas pool halls. Dennis and his parents then relocated to Borrego, California where his parents bought the Ironwoods Resort. Dennis loved the desert all of his life and attended Julian High School in Julian, California. He met his first wife, Suzanne Vogt at Julian High, and they married after graduation. During their marriage, Dennis and Suzanne started out in Los Angeles. He began working with the Einstein Heilbronner Associates in southern California, starting as a runner, chauffer of E. H. Bronner, the head of the company and a world famous soap maker. He quickly moved up and helped with some of their marketing designs. Dennis then trained under a Black Hat Escoffier Chef, Jack Tonacka, in Santa Monica. Dennis always commented on how much he learned from Jack; not only about cooking, but also about life. Dennis worked as a White Hat Chef in fine dining restaurants in Los Angeles in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. He met another of his mentors, Christopher Hegarty, and they bought a bar and restaurant together. Dennis and Suzanne managed this business for nine years. It was called The Borrego Bighorn, a restaurant and bar in Borrego Springs, CA. When that business was sold, Dennis and Suzanne moved to Marin County, CA, where Dennis continued to work with Christopher Hegarty’s firm of business consultants and seminar producers in Los Angeles and Las Vegas. During this time, Dennis was influenced by Bruce Lee and earned his First Degree Black Belt in Karate. He also was an accomplished bowler and could easily bowl ten straight strikes. Dennis and Suzanne were married for eighteen years, but, unfortunately, they grew apart and divorced in 1981, but remained friends the rest of their lives. Dennis continued to work between Los Angeles and Las Vegas and started his own consulting business. He consulted for the state of Nevada and worked with Las Vegas Research Associates. He also consulted for the Hawaiian Visitors Bureau and Hawaiian Homeland to develop singer Lopaka Brown as a successor to Don Ho as the state’s musical ambassador. In 1986, Dennis received an invitation to try his hand at cattle farming in Southwestern Pennsylvania. He took up the challenge and left the West behind. He helped to revive the farm, birthing and raising cattle and crops. He enjoyed this occupation very much and loved working with living plants and animals. He worked there until 1994 when he met his second wife, Cheryl Brickner, from Ohio, who was also living in Pennsylvania. She worked as an Intensive Care Nurse in Pittsburgh and was also divorced. Dennis and Cheryl found they loved being together and had many things in common. They lived in Mars, Pennsylvania, and started their life together with Cheryl’s three children, Matthew, who was twelve and twin seven-year-old daughters, Amanda and Mallory. Dennis was a great stepfather to his three stepchildren and cared for and grew to love them as his own. Dennis and Cheryl were married on March 11, 1999, on the island of Kauai, Hawaii, in a beautiful Japanese-style garden. Dennis went back to his cooking roots and worked around the Pittsburgh area. He also started a successful computer business, PJ Designs, at this time. The family moved back to Tiffin, Ohio in 2000 where Cheryl’s extended family resided. Dennis managed campus dining at Heidelberg College, Tiffin University, and at the University of Toledo, where he ended his working career. Dennis retired at the age of sixty eight, yet continued designing websites. After the children were grown and had their own lives, Dennis and Cheryl moved to Las Vegas where they lived for nine years. While living there, Dennis had a great time working as an extra in the movie, “Last Vegas.” They traveled extensively throughout the West and visited many national parks. The couple enjoyed Las Vegas, but moved back to Perrysburg, Ohio after Dennis suffered a stroke in 2018. While in Las Vegas, they adopted a little dog name Koki. Dennis enjoyed being with his new friend very much. They took trips together and often played catch. Koki still resides with Cheryl. Dennis Kenna was a good man and had an endearing laugh. He really enjoyed his life and often said he wanted to live to one hundred and twenty-five years old. He is loved and missed by his wife and stepchildren. They will never forget him and he will always remain in Cheryl’s heart as her one true love and soulmate. Cheryl said, “God brought us together when we needed each other and God will bring us together again. I will never forget him.” Dennis Kenna has been cremated and will be laid to rest in a private ceremony according to his wishes.