Sometimes his friends and my friends got together. We liked to sneak into the drive in hiding in the trunk. We liked to go to Tijuana and do some under age drinking. 
   When Dennis turned 18 he shaved his head and started going barefoot that summer. I guess it was some sort of Right of Passage. We didn’t know his whereabouts much in those days. Mark Anderson usually knew. Dennis was skilled in working on cars. I never knew how he learned it. He always kept his cars nice. 
   Dennis seemed to grow up at 21. He met Judy and they got married and had Carolyn. A year later Lori came along. After 10 years they split. He moved back home briefly but said it was a big mistake. He was with a lady named Sue and her 3 boys for a while but that was not to be. He met Joanne and that was it. They married and were married for 45 years. He adopted Joanne’s little son Jason. They seemed to have a good relationship and were good for each other. Joanne said that he always treated her well. 
   Dennis was a strong, silent type of man. He had many talents but never boasted on himself. He was a good big brother to have. He was a quiet force. You somehow knew that if you needed it he would be there for you.

Dennis was born in LA. We lived with grandpa John Calhoun in Baldwin Park. I came along 13 months later. My mother said Dennis didn’t like being replaced as the baby. He stole my bottle and tried to scratch my eyes out. 
   We moved from there to Escondido when we were still pretty little. From the pictures it looks like we had a lot of space to ride our tricycles, which we did a lot of. 
   From Escondido we went to Oceanside. Our first place there was a little beach house right on the boardwalk. Our playground was the sand just over the wall. Then we moved to Sturgess court where we had a lot of neighbors close by. There was a wash house with the old ringer washer. Dennis got his arm caught in it once. He was always into mischief. He earned the nickname of Dennis the Menace. We moved to Langford street for a short time. Leonard was born while we still lived at Sturgess court. He was about 6 months old on Langford street. From there we moved to the house on Star Route on the canyon. We had many adventures while living there. Larry was born while we lived there. Dennis and I climbed trees, walked on the roof and played in the canyon all day. We would meet rattle snakes on the trail and just jump over them. We were wild things. 
   When Dennis turned 13 things started to change. He was sporting an Elvis hairdo and was just too cool. I was 12 and a real square according to him. He has his bike all fixed up with a Brody knob. That bike was his freedom. He was all over town with that bike. None of us really knew what he was up to. He told me recently that he got himself into trouble once being in a place where there was water and it was a close call. I remember seeing him once out riding around on a school day. I told on him for skipping school. 
   In 1959 our mother moved us to San Diego. She was trying to divorce our father. They ended up reconciling after all. 
   Dennis started making friends- Mark Anderson and Doug Wright. Both ended up being lifelong friends

To the Calhoun Family, I send my deepest sympathy for the loss of Dennis. I'll always remember the Calhoun home both on Felton St. and Texas St as places of great hospitality.  Mr. Calhoun always cooking up a storm,, Dolores and we younger girls with crushes on Dennis and his guy friends. We were always the pesky brats, haha.

I know Dennis will be deeply missed by many.
My love and prayers to Joanne, his children, Leonard, Larry and Dolores, my bestie!❤️Victoria

OBITUARY

Dennis Stephen Calhoun

February 2, 1946 – June 15, 2025

El Cajon Mortuary and Cremation Service

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