Dennis Allen Doris

Dennis Allen Doris, 81, of Fair Oaks, California, passed away on August 30, 2026. Born in San Francisco, California, on June 24, 1945, Dennis was loved by everyone who knew him for his kindness and devotion to his family.

Dennis was an educator whose motivation was simply to help people. After earning his BA and MA at Chico State College in 1969, he began teaching English at nearby Gridley High School. In 1973, Dennis, his wife Adrienne, their twenty-two month old son Luke, and newly born Katie, moved to Salt Lake City, where he earned his Ph.D. in Education from the University of Utah. They moved to San Diego after Utah, where Adam was born. Dennis was then a Vice-Principal and Principal in Santa Rosa, California, before becoming the Principal of St. Helena High School. The family moved to Oroville, where Dennis was Principal at Oroville High School for fifteen years before moving to Fair Oaks and retiring after eleven years as Principal of Mesa Verde High School in Sacramento.

Dennis was a runner. At Cappuccino High School in San Bruno, California, he was the quarterback on the football team, the first baseman on the baseball team and at Chico State he played doubles on the tennis team. However, he found distance running to be his true calling. He ran in the Boston Marathon and completed the rare feat of running a marathon on all seven continents. He found peace and communion with nature during his many miles on the trails with friends all around the world.

Dennis loved books and published his poetry in the Peabody Journal of Education. He read everything and read every day. The last book he read was Theo of Golden.

Dennis was lucky in love. He found Adrienne at Chico State, was married in December, 1968, and they had fifty-eight years of daily joy together. Their little and big routines together were treasured, shared and admired by all their friends.

Dennis was a father. He loved his children and grandchildren. He and Adrienne taught them how to live and love by example. He is survived by his wife Adrienne, their children Luke and his wife Kris, Katie and her husband Nick, and Adam and his wife Jodie. Their grandchildren are Callie, Nicole, Harper, Cole, Nathan, and Justin.