Dennis was the beloved husband of Peggy Martin; cherished father of Jeff (Katie) and Chris; loving son of Robert and Joann Martin; cherished brother of Elizabeth Martin; beloved brother-in-law of Patricia and Jon Vaninger, Cathy and Helmut Damke, Susan and Kim Poley, Mary Jo and Robert Neff, Robert Allan III and Jack Craver; beloved uncle of Jessica (Bill) Duncan, John and Lynne Vaninger, Julia Vaninger, Jamie Poley, Alec Neff, Heather (Neal) Wagner, and Stephanie Winkler.
Dennis was born and raised in Kirkwood to Bob & Joanne Martin. He went to Kirkwood High before attending South County Tech to pursue a career in autobody & auto mechanics. His career in the auto industry lasted over 30 years before he transitioned to Pasco Systems where he was a production engineer, wearing many different hats. He loved working with his colleagues at Pasco.
He met the love of his life, Peggy, while working at Pool-Mart in Kirkwood in 1974. They dated for 7 years, until they wed in 1981. Dennis and Peggy welcomed their first son, Jeff, in 1983. Chris followed in 1988. When he wasn’t working, Dennis spent his time with his family. He coached basketball for his sons, and always looked forward to the weekend, where he would take his family boating on the river or at the Lake of the Ozarks. A master of the grill and the toolbox, there wasn’t anything Dennis couldn’t cook or fix. He especially enjoyed grilling Sunday night steaks for his family.
Dennis especially enjoyed spending time with his grandkids and took every chance he could to play jokes with them. When asked, “What’s Grandpa up to?” Tucker would immediately respond, “No good!” One of his favorite things to do was wake up early to make the grandkids blueberry pancakes when they spent the night.
Dennis was always loving and caring about everyone he met. He will always be missed.
A visitation for Dennis will be held Friday, August 13, 2021 from 4:00 PM to 7:30 PM at Kriegshauser Mortuary-West Chapel, 9450 Olive Blvd, St. Louis, MO 63132.
In lieu of flowers, contributions in Dennis' memory made to the Open Door Sanctuary or the Make A Wish Foundation would be greatly appreciated by his family.
Please leave a favorite memory of Dennis for his family to cherish at the "Add a Memory" link below.
