Dennis Lee Checkley

Dennis was born in South Bend, Indiana and grew up in Elkhart, Indiana. He was a graduate of Elkhart High School in 1968. He graduated from Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana and there, was a proud member of the Theta Chi Fraternity. He rode bike in the Little 500 for the fraternity. Since then, he has enjoyed yearly reunions with the Brothers in Indianapolis where they golfed and exchanged War Stories of the college years. He was a proud Hoosier and loved IU Basketball Coach, Bobby Knight.

Uncle Sam drafted him in October 1972, serving a little more than a year and a half on a mountaintop in South Korea, where he was a power generator equipment operator on surface to air missiles. He was honorably discharged in July 1974.

Dennis and Athel Micka, who met in the Spring of 1975 during Little 500 in Bloomington, married April 9th, 1978.

They have two daughters, Jessica Checkley of Weatherford, Texas and Nikki Checkley and Michael Dozal of Santa Monica, California; and, two grandchildren, Hayden Fitzgerald and Peyton Checkley.

Dennis spent most of his corporate career with Xerox Corporation, which took the family to Texas, where subsequently, he became a business owner in Dallas. Currently, Dennis has been semi-retired, working as a School Bus Driver for the Grapevine Colleyville Independent School District.

For a time, Dennis worked as a mentor for Dallas Casa, assisting abused and neglected children through the legal system.

In addition to his wife and daughters, he is survived by his mother, Frances Checkley, brother, Michael Checkley and his wife Sandy of Florida, his sister Karen Blosser and her husband Brock of Canada, and two dogs he absolutely adored, Smokey and Missy.

Private, family-only, funeral services will take place at Bluebonnet Cemetery in Colleyville, Texas. In lieu of flowers, donations in Dennis’ name can be made to First Tee of Dallas & Ft. Worth and Dallas Casa.

Dennis loved golf, traveling and had an entertaining, irreverent sense of humor. He will be sorely missed.