Joseph Eugene Dennehy

On April 17th, 2012, nine days shy of his ninety-first birthday, Joseph Eugene Dennehy passed away quietly in the orange- and lemon-blossom-filled valley of Ojai, California, where he had lived in the 1950s and 1960s, raised six children, and served as principal of the Ojai Elementary School.

Joseph, also known as Joe, was born and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the oldest of five children of Nona Joyce and Joseph Dennehy, Sr. A child of the Depression Era, he learned at a young age the value of money, and his savings from a paper route combined with scholarships allowed him to attend the elite private Catholic School, Cassia Hall, where his natural curiosity was developed as he excelled in the subjects of history, geography and philosophy.

He dreamed of California as a young man, and after his plans to join the Air Force changed, he headed west to join the Christian Brothers as a novice at Mount La Salle in the Napa Valley, where he worked in the vineyards picking grapes and in the winery alongside master winemaker, Brother Timothy. As a Christian Brother, he attended St. Mary’s College in Moraga and taught history, science and woodshop at Christian Brothers School in Sacramento. True to his rebellious nature, he eschewed final vows, left the order and returned to Oklahoma to finish his bachelor’s degree at Oklahoma State University.

His first full-time job as an educator was in Santa Maria, California, as teaching principal of Bonita School. There he met the love of his life, Elizabeth Jane Rindt, a teacher, war widow, and mother of two young girls. After a whirlwind romance, they were married at Mission Santa Barbara in 1948. Joe and Betty moved to Ojai in 1949, and while they raised a family, Joe continued his educational goals, attending Claremont Graduate School, Stanford University and earning his Ph.D., (ABD), from UCLA in 1965. In 1967, Joe’s keen interest in Latin America took him and his family to Bogotá, Colombia for an adventurous year, where Joe was director of Collegio Nueva Granada, an American K-12 school perched high on a hill above the city.

From 1969 to 1985, Joe was Director of Curriculum for Evergreen Unified School District in San Jose, California, and he moved with Betty and his two youngest children to the Santa Cruz Mountains (Bonny Doon) in 1970 to live on six beautiful acres of fir, madrone, and manzanita trees. After Joe’s retirement, he and Betty enjoyed many activities: traveling, renovating their home, and visiting with their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Joe also spent much time lavishing special attention on his 240D Mercedes Benz, changing her oil himself and checking her tire pressure regularly.

Joe’s nephrologist described him as “a firecracker,” an apt moniker, and he could be quite vocal and energetic, raising his blood pressure by discussing politics and writing urgent letters to his family, friends and neighbors on such topics as the National Debt and Smart Meters. A consummate “punner,” he exercised his vibrant wit regularly, and thought he suffered from multiple ailments in the last few years of his life (and was nicknamed “the cantankerous coyote”), his zest for life remained to the end: that is what all will remember.

Joseph is survived by his youngest brother, Dr. Timothy Dennehy of Tulsa, Oklahoma; and all six of his children: daughters, Nancy Petersen of Laramie, Wyoming, Jo Ann Perry of Richmond, California, Juana Guevara of Ojai, California, and Merry Dennehy of Santa Cruz; as well as his sons, Timothy Dennehy of Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Patrick Dennehy of Santa Cruz. In addition he is survived by his grandchildren, Jennifer, Poncho, Alejandra, Carmen, Michelle, Gilberta, Dominique, Kaleigh, Andres, Briana, Alex, and Nick; and his great-grandchildren, Reggie, Eva, Xiomara, Arden, Isabella, Xochitl, and Alexa.

Arrangements are under the direction of the Ted Mayr Funeral Home and Crematory, 3150 Loma Vista Rd., Ventura. Condolences may be left at TedMayrFuneralHome.com.