Dennis Edward O'Day

Our beloved father, Dennis Edward O'Day, passed away in the early morning hours of Sunday, December 15th, 2024 at his brother's house in Houston, Texas. Following in the footsteps of his beloved sweetheart, our dear mom, Sharron Jean O’Day, who passed away on Palm Sunday 2014, he too passed on a holy day: the third Advent Sunday of this Christmas season. In addition to our mom, he is preceded in death by his parents, John and Bernice O'Day, his older brother Johnny, younger sister Mary, who passed away shortly after being born, and two of his brothers-in-law, William (Bill) Ross and Thomas (Tom) Spivey. He is survived by several siblings: Sharon (Sherry) Vandergraaf and husband Robert (Rob), Michael (Mike) O'Day and wife Christine (Chris), brother Stephen (Steve) O'Day, sister Elizabeth (Liz) Spivey, sister Catherine (Cathy) Ross, and sister Maureen Willey and husband Marc. Additionally, he is survived by his two children: John O'Day and wife Sarah and their children, Makayla, Abigail (Abby), and Dylan, and Sarah O'Day and partner Wesley Sanders.

Our dad truly had the gift of gab and never knew a stranger, as the saying goes. He was the original 'Dennis the Menace' in his younger years and had stories for days. Whenever something was amiss in his hometown of Fargo, North Dakota (he was born there on August 13th, a Friday no less), one of the first people the police and fire departments would look for was our dad. Many times, he was their 'guy' and would eventually concede. Dad loved growing up in Fargo and has the fondest memories of his family and friends there (and in nearby Minnesota). From summers at the lakes to ice fishing in the winters, he would tell you his memories as if they had just transpired.

From Fargo, dad's family moved to Minot, North Dakota as his dad changed careers and was starting a new job. After several years there, the family moved to St. Louis, Missouri in the summer of 1964 where my dad would soon meet our lovely mother at a local bowling alley, the Strike and Spare, that winter. He was 16 and she 15 years of age. From there, they were two peas in a pod and truly enjoyed every moment together. Dad loved going to his sweetheart's home not only to see her but also to eat some delicious Italian food. He would fondly recall all the times Italian would be the language of the evening around the dinner table and his favorite word was "mangiare" meaning "eat! eat!". They were married March 14th, 1969 in St. Ann, Missouri (near St. Louis) at St. Gregory's Catholic Church. Dad had enlisted in the United States Air Force right after he proposed to our mom in 1967. Unfortunately, our parents were soon separated after their wedding as dad had to complete a one year tour in Vietnam. He returned home May 1970 and mom had just graduated from DePaul School of Nursing in St. Louis. While she began working as an operating nurse at DePaul Hospital, he began his undergraduate studies in Criminal Justice (fitting for a man who broke every rule as a kid) at the University of Missouri in St. Louis. During this time, he and mom lived in her parent's basement so he got all the in-law time one could dream of! Honestly though, he loved it. In January of 1975, several months after his graduation, our parents moved to Norfolk, Virginia where dad began his career as a special agent with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS). During this time, mom completed her Bachelor's Degree in Nursing and then began to teach nursing locally. The stories of their house parties could rival anyone John and I went to and their friendships there were very special to them.

Unfortunately, his dad's health, our grandpa John, was declining and our parents moved to Houston, Texas in 1980 to be with him prior to his passing. They actually lived in Clear Lake and dad continued his service as a special agent now with NASA and mom worked as an operating room nurse. In January of 1982, they welcomed their firstborn, John Herbert (named after our parents dads). From here, they moved to Ft. Worth as mom would begin her medical schooling to become a family physician. During this time, dad continued his special agent work with Defense Criminal Investigative Service and they welcomed their second child, Sarah Bernice (named after our parents moms) in February of 1986. Upon mom's graduation in 1987, our family moved to Port Arthur for mom to complete a one year internship. Afterwards, it was back to Houston where our family eventually settled in Sugar Land, mom opened her medical practice, and dad worked as an insurance agent and then sales representative for Star Disposal (John actually worked with him during this time and they both well remember waiting in line to get paid!). One of his many nicknames in life was 'Dumpster Dennis' and this is where it came from. To this day, dad would tell us the yardage on a dumpster we didn't ask for haha. So many wonderful and cherished memories were made by our family here and our parents met so many wonderful friends as well. Our family was blessed to live nearby many of dad's family and us kids grew up surrounded by love with large, festive gatherings no matter the occasion. Every kid should be so lucky.

Times would change to some degree though: mom was diagnosed with stage four breast cancer in 1997 and dad with a benign brain tumor in 2004. Both eventually got through these morbidities with chemotherapy and brain surgery, respectively. As a consequence of his brain surgery, dad lost his sense of smell and taste and never regained either. While he would make comments from time to time about wishing he could smell or taste, it is truly amazing the amount of times he did not complain. His surgery also left him without the ability to produce many of his own hormones to regulate his different body systems. Therefore, dad had to take many daily pills, and for several years, injections, for the remainder of his life. Again, while he would make comments from time to time the amount of times he did not complain is truly a wonder. He had to be on a high dose of steroids for a long time after his surgery which caused him to gain 80 pounds. We do not recall him once complaining about this sudden weight gain even though it must have bothered him. So too began dad's infamous naps where he could fall asleep at the drop of a hat . We called these his 'nappy poos', and he would always wake up with a smile and a laugh. While his brain surgery saved his life it took from him the ability to have a normal job and he was forced to officially retire.

Eventually, our parents moved back to St. Louis in 2008 as mom would begin her career in the government as a physician for the Veterans Affairs (VA) administration. This allowed her to work with my dad's brother, also a physician, and many wonderful memories would follow. This move back to St. Louis was a very special time for our parents as they got to spend more time with family that didn't live in Houston and reconnect with many, many wonderful friends. Around the time I began veterinary school in 2010, mom and dad moved back to Texas where mom continued her work with the VA in Temple. This was not an easy decision for them as they truly loved being in St. Louis. I am so grateful that they did as it allowed for many more memories with them. John was getting out of the United States Army around this time, after deploying to Iraq, and we were able to spend a beautiful Christmas together in Temple. In May of 2012, our mom was diagnosed again with cancer. This time it would be stage four lung cancer and two years later she was taken from us while she and dad were living back in Sugar Land. Dad would talk about mom every single day and it was evident that half of his heart was missing.

A month after mom's passing, I began my career in the United States Army as a veterinarian and eventually was able to be stationed in Colorado Springs, Colorado. This move was purposeful as John and his growing family were already there. Dad had been living with me after mom's death and he was very excited to be moving to Colorado to be near John and family. I got to live with my dad for ten more years and I am beyond grateful for every single memory with him. Dad and John specialized in lunchtime meetups during John's workday and I know these hold a very special place in John's heart.

John and I were able to spend this Thanksgiving with dad and family in Colorado Springs. We went around the table saying what we were thankful for and dad's comment was family and mom. That's a beautiful memory. John and I have been so blessed by the parents God gave us and the holes they have left behind are vast.

This obituary is a mere attempt to chronologically summarize our dad's life but in reality what we will all remember is our Dennis laughing, telling a joke or two (or 100), going over every bit of music trivia you could think of down to the smallest of details, reliving his glory days of high school and his 'ballroom buds' as he would say, and speaking lovingly of our mom. He had a knack for coming up with goofy little phrases or nicknames for almost anything and anyone and those will give John and I a lot of laughs in the dark days ahead.

Mom and dad…we love you and wish you eternal peace together and look forward to the day when we are reunited with you. Time is a thief but it will never steal our memories.