Dennis A. DeSota

He was born December 12, 1940 in Unity, (Marathon County) Wisconsin, the son of Ivan James & Emma Julia (Evenson) DeSota.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Ivan and Emma, brothers: Melvin and Ray, and daughter Denise.

He is survived by wife, Mary Jo; sons: Tim (Barb) and David (Vicky); 4 grandchildren and siblings: Duane, Dale, Gary, and Ron DeSota, Betty Alger, and Irene Anderson.

~Service of Remembrance~

11:00 AM Saturday, March 4, 2017 at

Gearhart Funeral Home

11275 Foley Blvd,

Coon Rapids, Minnesota

with visitation beginning at 10:00 AM.

A reception will follow the service at 1:00 PM at

Kraus Hartig VFW Post 6587,

8100 NE Pleasant View Drive,

Spring Lake Park, Minnesota

~Burial~

will be held in the spring at

Morningside Memorial Gardens Cemetery

Coon Rapids, Minnesota

Dennis attended school in Stanley, WI and helped on farms during his childhood bringing in the crops. He also delivered newspapers and worked setting pins at the nearby bowling alley, “Double Pins – Double Shift” as he liked to say. Dennis joined the Army on November 4, 1963 in Chippewa Falls, WI and was discharged on October 26, 1965. During his time in the military, serving in the Vietnam War, he achieved a SPEC E-4 rank and was given a good conduct medal and expert rifle M14. He was a lifetime member of the Palmer Lake VFW Post #3915 in Brooklyn Park, MN.

Dennis married Pat and they had two children, Denise Dawn (Dwight) and Timothy James (Barb) DeSota, and were blessed with grandson Chad DeSota. Dennis later married LeAnn Pritz and that union was blessed with another son, David (Vicky) DeSota and they have three children in Wisconsin. Dennis worked at a turkey farm in Barron, WI and for Nordic Insulation Company in the Twin Cities. He later worked for Donaldson Air Cleaners in Bloomington and eventually went to work for Pro-Engineering, a metal stamping company in New Hope where he worked as a punch press operator for approximately twenty years.

Dennis had a love for orange tractors, and was a lifetime member of the Northern Historical Power Association where you could find him helping with the show and riding his tractors. He served on their board as a Director for one term, but helped for over twenty years to preserve and demonstrate agricultural life after the 1900’s. His love for Allis Chalmers Tractors was evident as he worked with the family of Lloyd Werner of Elk River, MN restoring and repairing many orange tractors over the years. He was also a member of the Upper Midwest Allis Chalmers Collectors Club in Hutchison, MN and attended many “Gathering of the Orange” threshing shows and parades throughout Minnesota, Washington, Kansas, and Fort Myers, Florida. Dennis has a collection of Allis Chalmers memorabilia which has grown over the years which is displayed in its own special room that he was very proud of. He also enjoyed many great times with family on vacations and with his many camping friends during camping trips. His gray tabby cat, Captain, was the love of his life and provided a lot of love and companionship over the last two years. He loved country music, playing bingo, and hunting with his son, Tim and grandson, Chad and friends Paul and Mike. After nearly thirty years of hunting, Dennis finally shot his first deer in 2015. That sure was one for the history books. He loved working on cars and helping family and friends and would give his shirt off his back for them. He was a very passionate, stubborn, and sometimes opinionated man and he loved to talk about current affairs and talk politics with his brothers.

Dennis’s life has touched the hearts of many people and he will be greatly missed by all of us.