Dennis Lee Stahl

Dennis Stahl, who expanded Hilltop Community Resources from a two-person therapy practice to a vital provider of social services on the Western Slope and one of Mesa County’s largest private employers, has died in his beloved Grand Junction. He was 90.

Denny, as his multitude of friends knew him, was born in Huron, South Dakota on July 3, 1936. One of five sons, he spent his earliest years on a farm near Yale, South Dakota, before moving to the “big city” of Huron. Denny spent his high school years embracing a love of sports, particularly baseball and football. (If family stories are to be believed, he might have participated in some small-town shenanigans in his free time, as well.) He continued his football career at Huron College, where despite being just 5’ 8” and 165 pounds, he was a starting offensive guard on the conference championship team. His biggest victory in college, though, came in his junior year when he won the heart of Linda Maxwell, a lively freshman girl from a little town near the Minnesota border. They were inseparable from her first college mixer until her death in 2022, after 64 years of marriage.

Upon graduation from college, Denny and Linda married and moved to Chamberlain, South Dakota, where Denny taught history in the local high school and coached the football team. Fatefully, a college friend told him about his plans to go to California to become a physical therapist. Denny was intrigued by the opportunity and sent off his own application to the University of Southern California, which wisely accepted him. So, the newlyweds packed up and headed west. Surprisingly, the allure of California’s beaches and sun were not strong enough to keep Denny and Linda away from the Midwest for long. After two years, with his degree in hand, Denny began working at a series of small-town hospitals in southern Minnesota, where he found himself engaged as both a PT and a hospital administrator. Family trips to Colorado eventually convinced Denny that the mountains were the place to be. But where? He received one offer to be the administrator of a hospital in a quirky mountain town and another from a tiny therapy practice in a dusty valley known for its peaches. In the end, and seemingly against the odds, Durango’s loss was Grand Junction’s gain.

Denny started at what was then known as Hilltop House in 1970. Over the next 29 years, until his retirement in 1999, Denny threw himself into growing a business – and creating a community – to serve the Grand Valley’s needs. Denny was the pioneer for many services now taken for granted in Mesa County; rehabilitation, hospice, and assisted living to name a few. Under Denny’s guidance, Hilltop evolved from a single purpose therapy practice into a multifaceted community services organization. Denny served on a multitude of Boards and Commissions both at the local and State levels and was named Citizen of the Year in 1993 by the Grand Junction Chamber. He was justifiably proud of what Hilltop became and the mission it continues to serve.

It was not all work, though. Denny was a dedicated and loving father to four boys. He was by turns their baseball coach, hunting guide, sports parent, and life mentor. He was also an intrepid traveler, visiting some 63 countries with Linda and his family. From African photo safaris to traveling throughout North America in his RV to climbing Mexican volcanoes to swimming in the waters of Antarctica, Denny enjoyed an adventure.

Denny is survived by his four sons and their wives, Bob (Lynda), Tom (Mimi Burns), Mike (Katrina), and Andy (Amy); as well as eight grandchildren and three (soon to be four!) great-grandchildren. A celebration of life will be held at First United Methodist Church on Saturday, October 31st at 10:00am. Private family reception to follow. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations be made to Hilltop Community Resources. A very active man, Denny always used to say, “You can rest when you’re dead.” Well, rest in peace Denny. You will be missed.