When he was six months old the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor while he and his parents were in San Francisco. They made their way back to Portland up Highway 101 at night in total black out. Dennis attended Highland School (now King Elementary) and Jefferson High School, graduating with “the Golden Class of 1959”. He enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1960 and after Boot Camp in San Diego, Infantry Training Regiment at Camp Pendleton, and aviation technical training Memphis, Tennessee, served three plus years as a Reciprocating Aircraft Engine Mechanic with Marine Aircraft Repair Squadron 37, 3rd Marine Air Wing, MCAS El Toro, in Santa Ana, CA. After his enlistment Dennis worked as an Engineering Technician for the Oregon State Highway Dept. for three years while attending night school at Portland State College.
Dennis married Kathleen Margaret Miller of Portland in February of 1967. Kathleen preceded Dennis in death, passing away in 2017. They were married for 50 years. Dennis and Kathleen have two children, Paul Quentin Kucera, Pastor of Bethel Presbyterian Church, West Columbia, Texas, and Heidi Kucera-Taylor, Regional Accommodations Manager for Amazon.com Corporation. Dennis and Katheen have four grandchildren, Gavin Samuel Taylor, Landon Lucas Taylor, Nicholas Christian Kucera, and Evan Samuel Kucera.
Dennis graduated from Portland State University in 1974 with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration. His career as a Cost Accountant and Office Administrator spanned thirty six years with several well known northwest companies, notably Ross Island Sand & Gravel, Reidel International, Publishers Paper Company, and Healthwright Products of Clackamas, Oregon. He was also Senior Accounting Assistant for the Housing Authority of Washington County (Hillsboro) for seven years. Using the G.I. Bill, Dennis obtained his Private Pilot License in 1965. He was active in the Experimental Aircraft Association, Portland Chapter 105 for many years, serving as their Secretary/Treasurer. In 1978 Dennis had triple by-pass surgery and was forced to give up active flying but continued to be involved in aviation. He is the author of three books, “In a Now Forgotten Sky”, ”Meus Ensis: A Bohemian’s Tale”, and “The Heap” (das Haufe)
A proud veteran, Dennis volunteered his time and services at the Portland Veterans Administration Medical Center, He was a member of the American Legion, Milwaukee Post 180 for more than twenty five years, and Commissaire Intendant and Correspondant of Voiture 25, La Societe des Quarante Hommes et Huit Chevaux, “The Society of Forty Men or Eight Horses”, a veterans’ organization founded in 1919 after the Armistice of World War l.
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