Dennis John Streich

Born June 25, 1941, Went to be with Jesus May 23, 2025.

Survived by wife, Melodie Ruth Brieschke Streich, Daughter Kimberly Streich, Son Jon Streich, Daughter-in-Law Christina Karpinsky Streich, Granddaughters Grace Streich and Alissa Streich, Grandpups Freddy, Bubba, Suh and Blu. Predeceased by Cherokee, Tiny, Les, Pepper, Chubby, Poochie, Taz, Gigi, Fonzie, Lucky, Precious, Kat, Boots, Harry, Sunshine, Max and Cherokee.

Dennis graduated from Concordia College River Forest with an education degree in elementary education and received his masters degree from Wayne State University with an emphasis on reading. He taught for 30 years in the Lutheran School system starting in New Orleans, moving to Chicago and ending his career in Detroit. He molded the minds of 3rd graders which was his favorite grade to teach and had a unique, fun way to teach the multiplication tables. He was a favorite among students as he was kind, patient, laid back but stern. If you ever had to do sentences in his class, it was never a one liner. It was always a paragraph so you learned what NOT to do again. Everyday after recess he would read out loud to them for a half hour to calm them down and encourage them to love reading. He was amazed that they listened and knew the story. He thought they were sleeping. To encourage their reading journey, he would take them to the public library every Friday to check out books. Many students have said it was because of him that they continue reading today.

Now that you know the important stuff about our dad that you probably already know, let's let you in on the stuff you might not know (as told by daughter Kim).

He was quite the ladies man and received the most marriage proposals ever. Okay, they might have come from his 8 year old students, but it still counts. We'd find the "Will you marry me, Mr. Streich?" on homework quite often. He also had pop star status. One student wouldn't let her mom touch her arm or wash it because "Mr. Streich touched my arm."

Once those granddaughters were born, he became the biggest baby hog ever. He would not give them up easily to anyone. He was also known as the baby whisperer. Any cranky baby in the family or at church was given to dad. Somehow, he always managed to calm them down and get them to fall asleep.

His handyman skills were.....interesting. Like the day I caught him trying to bring the lawn mower into the house to warm it up. How he thought he was going to get it into the basement, get it on and back outside I'll never know. And the time he fixed the furnace. We heard a loud boom and he came trudging up the stairs, not saying a word, turned the corner and there he was, his face covered with black soot like in the cartoons. And his honey-do list was long and kept getting longer. But no worries, he always told mom "I'm gonna".

When he worked at the vet part time, he was known as the Dog Barometer. Every dog that came in was given to him to see if they liked him. If they didn't, they knew the dog would be difficult to examine. And while we are mentioning dogs, there wasn't a dog he didn't like or charm. They loved him. I mean looooovvved him. And the feeling was mutual.

He had impeccable sports taste. He loved watching Jon and I play ball no matter what it was, but volleyball was his favorite and what he played. He was my first coach and he worked on my form, allll the time (much to my dismay some days). He loved his Tigers, Lions and Pistons (okay-I'll give you that this might not have been a great choice, but he was loyal) and watched them every time he could. He watched them so often that mom would start telling us what happened during the last game and she knew who the players were!! Say what??

He was a coffee connoisseur. And by connoisseur I mean he just LOVED his coffee. The stronger the better. We would often joke that if the spoon didn't stand up in the cup it wasn't strong enough for him. The cup was often an extension of his hand and it was really weird to see him drinking something other than coffee. Water? No. That's boring. Milk? If I have to. Pop? Maybe with pizza or burgers. But always coffee. Must. Have. Coffee.

His food palate was simple. He would have been happy eating vanilla ice cream all day, every day. And don't ruin it with toppings or sprinkles, and heaven forbid you scooped chocolate first and got chocolate on his vanilla. Blasphemy. Cookies (did you know there is a law that says you must take cookies with you every time you get into the car? No? Well, that was a rule in our house), chips and lately peppermints for every single meal if mom let him, which she didn't, much to his dismay.

He could imitate a beetle on its back to perfection. Especially after Jon gave him one too many Manhattans and he fell into a bush on his back. There he is arms and legs flailing and laughing hysterically.

When dad would watch or hear something that astounded him, he would often say "Holy Toledo"! I'm pretty sure that when he saw Jesus for the first time, he was astounded and that's what he said.

Our dad was a great husband, father, pa, teacher, man. He loved us well and was our biggest fan. He loved us completely and with all he had and we were blessed he was ours.

A memorial gathering will be held on Saturday, June 28th from 2:00 pm until the time of his Memorial Service at 4:30 pm at A.H. Peters Funeral Home.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Michigan Humane Society @ www.michiganhumane.org or to the charity of the donor's choice.