Mr. Robert Albartus Dennis

Robert A. Dennis TUSCALOOSA | Robert A. Dennis, age 88, of Tuscaloosa, Ala., died on July 20, 2014, at Hospice of West Alabama. Graveside services will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, July 23, 2014 at the Montevallo Cemetery in Montevallo, Ala. with Reverend Kathy Reed officiating and Rockco Funeral Home Montevallo directing. A Service of Resurrection will be held at The Westervelt-Warner Chapel, First Presbyterian Church of Tuscaloosa on Saturday, July 26, at 10:00 a.m. with Reverend Kathy Reed and Dr. William Dudley officiating. The family will receive friends in The Great Hall following the service. He was preceded in death by his parents, Mack and Maggie Dennis; his wife, Mary Jean Dennis; his son, Robert A. Dennis, Jr.; and brother, Cecil Dennis. He is survived by a sister, Willie Postage (Leonard) of Lakeland, Fla.; son, William Alan Dennis (Mary Beth); daughter, Mary Ford Davis (Clif); and grandchildren, William Patton Dennis of Tuscaloosa, Ala., Mary Jean Davis of Nashville, Tenn., and Laura Davis Doyle (Jacob) of Daphne, Ala. R.A., as he was known by friends and family, was born in Moffat, Alabama. At an early age his family moved to Montevallo. In the first grade R.A. met Mary Jean Kennerly, who became his lifelong sweetheart and his wife of 66 years. Following graduation from high school, R.A. and Mary Jean married and attended the University of Alabama until he was called into service with the Army Air Corps. Following his discharge, he returned to the University to complete his degree in accounting. After finishing college and prior to returning to his alma mater in 1965, R.A. served as an area manager for Firestone Tire and Rubber Company, district manager for Sokol Furniture, and Treasurer of Montreat-Anderson College in Montreat, N.C. Upon returning to The University of Alabama, he held positions of Supply Store Manager, Director of Financial Aid, Director of Institutional Analysis, and Acting Director of Institutional Development. While working at the University, R.A. completed his Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration. As a devoted student of the Bible, R.A. used this gift serving the Lord as an elder at First Presbyterian Church and as a teacher of the Brotherhood and Fellowship Sunday School Classes. He was honored to serve as Treasurer of the John Knox Presbytery. As an extension of his faith into the community, R.A. organized and led weekly devotionals at local nursing homes and recruited other volunteers to help in this ministry. R.A. was an avid golfer, playing several times a week with friends in Tuscaloosa and, during the summer, with friends at his beloved home in Montreat, North Carolina. Those who knew him valued him as a trustworthy and loyal friend. The family wishes to thank Hospice of West Alabama for their assistance with his care in the final days of his life. In lieu of flowers, the family asks donations be made to Hospice of West Alabama or the First Presbyterian Church of Tuscaloosa.