Dennis served his first four years as a Personnelman onboard USS MERRILL (DD-976). In a pinch, he also became part of the firefighting and security details. He served as a Personnel Petty Officer at North Island Naval Station in CA for his final four years. His eight years of service were during both Desert Shield and Desert Storm.

After Dennis’s military service ended in 1991, he used his GI Bill to get his B.S. in Computer Science and a master’s degree in Software Engineering. He started working for the Department of Defense in 2006 and is still employed there. He really enjoys his job and is still able to work 40 hours. Dennis was diagnosed in 2022 with focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) a rare disease that affects the filters in your kidneys and had to start dialysis the same year.

Dennis and his wife Eloisa have two grown children. Eloisa, his love and support, is a 3X cancer survivor, who he says is the bravest woman he knows! He loves to play guitar and sing, read science fiction books, and take pictures. He still goes to the gym three times a week to try to keep up his strength!