Dennis Stewart King burst into this world on November 15th, 1930 with a pencil in one hand, a drumstick in the other and the mischievous smile that would keep us all on our toes for 93 years. He was a beautiful baby, so much so that his mother entered him in a baby beauty contest disguising him as a girl, and he won. Pre-dating the Dennis the Menace comic strip by 21 years there is no doubt the character is based on Dad. Dennis King didn’t stumble into mischief, he more or less created it, looking for any opportunity to joke, tease or kibitz whenever and wherever possible. He was a very funny man who had the rare quality where pretty much everybody liked him. The only people who may not have liked him are the people he would openly chastise in public. If he came upon a mother with a baby in a carriage in the freezing Montreal winter: “Put a goddamn hat on your baby lady!”. Always the defender of those who couldn’t speak or defend themselves. It horrified us as kids, but now we do the same, honor knows no generations. An advertising man by profession, he cut a figure right out of the TV show Mad Men standing 6 feet tall looking impeccable in his tailored suits, jet black hair and movie star looks, but his true loves were cartooning, music, Terry and his kids, not necessarily in that order. Each of us kids, grandkids, spouses and very often pets received a hand drawn birthday card and christmas card every single year.
For over 30 years Dennis contributed his artistic skills to drawing posters, pamphlets, fundraising materials and logos for the Archdiocese of Montreal. The Priest he first started helping eventually grew up to become the Bishop. The Bishop invited Dennis to join the Knights of Columbus, to which Dad responded “I’m a Lutheran”. The Bishop was floored that this man had volunteered his services to the church for decades and he wasn’t even Catholic.
I think everything written above about Dennis King says it all about what kind of man he was. He of course had all the other stuff you typically see in obituaries: A job, wife, kids, grandkids, parents. But what he will be remembered for is being Dad, Uncle Denny and Papoo. Obituaries turn yellow, dry up and blow away, but memories last forever and I don’t think there is any person on this earth who met Dennis King who doesn’t remember him.
At his request there will be no services, I think he wanted to get right down to the business of causing trouble in Heaven.
October 11, 2023
Les souvenirs et condoléances pour la famille King peuvent être partagés sur www.guaysainteustache.ca.
SHARE OBITUARYSHARE
v.1.14.0