Dennis Wayne Mendes

Dennis Wayne Mendes, of the Spokane Valley, passed away on November 16th, he was 77 years old. He is survived by his wife, Miletta, of 55 years, his son Daniel (48) and his wife Kara, two grandchildren, Kendahl (12) and James (10), several nieces and nephews, and his kitten Gracie (1).

Dennis was born in Honolulu, HI and moved with his parents, George and Virginia, brother, Norman, and sister, Terry, to the Los Angeles area when he was five years old. As he grew up in LA, he became passionate about motorcycles and would often chase jackrabbits in the surrounding deserts on his 1964 Triumph. He worked at IBM, climbing telephone poles when he met Miletta at a Foster’s Freeze, where she worked. After being married for a few years and with the birth of Daniel, the family moved to the Spokane area in 1975, living in the same house in the valley since 1976. As a devout Catholic, he attended St. Mary church in the valley, all while he lived in the area.

He was passionate about motorcycles, coaching soccer (go, Spokane Valley Raiders FC!), the Los Angeles Dodgers, LA Lakers, USC Football, John Wooden and Sandy Koufax, Gonzaga basketball (with a personal letter from Coach Mark Few as one of his prized possessions), competitive shooting and animal rights and rescue shelters. He enjoyed telling stories about his youth in LA, days in the Army Reserve and soccer coaching exploits (the U-10 Nighthawks were 16-0 and scored 82 goals and allowed only 1).

Most importantly, he was a good person who always tried to do the right thing, a good husband and the best Dad.

A brief service will be held on December 16th at St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery (on Trent) at 1 pm. Flowers are unnecessary, but if you would like to make a donation in his name to a local animal shelter, he will be happy about that.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.HazenJaegerValley.com for the Mendes family.