Dennis Melvin Lea

On Wednesday, October 22nd, 202,5 our husband, "father, grandfather and friend, Dennis Lea, graduated from his front porch to God's front porch.

Dennie, as most knew him, was born on March 20th, 1942, in Orem, Utah, where he would reside for the majority of his life.

He received his education in both the Provo and Alpine School districts, graduating from Orem High School in 1960. Shortly after graduation, in September of 1961, he enlisted in the U.S. Army as an Electronics Repairman, specializing in radar repairs. He was stationed all over the country, but spent most of his time stationed in New York and Germany. He received a Good Conduct medal, a Sharpshooter badge and a Basic Missileman badge. He was honorably discharged on October 26th, 1963.

On April 24th, 1965, Dennie married the neighborhood girl he loved to tease, Karen Green. Almost two years later, they welcomed their first daughter, Staci, into the world, and three years after that, they welcomed their second daughter, Wendi.

As if he didn't have enough stress in his life between his wife and two daughters, and his full time job at Utah Wholesale Food, he decided to join the police academy and obtain his associate's degree. After graduating from the police academy, he joined the Orem City Police force, where he protected and served the community bravely for twenty-two years. He started as a Patrolman and climbed through the ranks to become a corporal, a detective, a sergeant and lastly, a lieutenant. Dennie was an extremely intelligent man, allowing him to take control of any situation of any magnitude.·

He was fair and firm, but was able to find humor in every situation. (For everyone who thought he was BlitzKrieg, he really wasn't.) Every single day, he was concocting a new prank or he had a new joke to share. (But if you were ever incarcerated in the Orem City jail, the horribly cooked microwave dinners were no joke. Seriously, he could not cook.)

Dennie was our Superman. In our eyes, he was ten feet tall and bulletproof. He was a man who wore many hats throughout his life; he could build or fix anything he touched. He excelled in automobile repair, carpentry, welding, and landscaping. There was no one around whose lawnmower or car sparkled and shined quite like his did. (He would wax anything that would hold still.)

But ultimately, the thing that he was most proud of, was his family; his wife, his daughters and his grandchildren were the center of his wor1d. Dennie never missed a single moment of his grandchildren's lives. Whether it was a sporting event or a school program, he was always there. He would do anything for the people he loved and cared for.

Dennis was preceded in death by his granddaughter, Bailey McKae Jensen (Chris and Wendi); his brothers, Steve and Jackie Lea; his brothers-in-law, Bill Green and Bruce Clark; and several close friends. He is survived by his wife, Karen Lea of Orem; his two daughters, Staci Lea (Shawn) of Orem and Wendi (Chris) Jensen of Orem; his grandchildren, Kyle Jensen of Orem and Savannah (Mason) Bailey of Sandy; and his sister-in-law, Dorothy Clark of Birdseye.

Our family would like to express our heartfelt thanks to Dr. Tauaina Ngatuvai, the doctors and nurses at Timpanogos Regional Hospital, and Jan Hunt for all of her help and support during this time.

A private celebration of life for family and friends will be held at a later date.

Condolences for the family may be expressed on this page.