Natalie and Ryan, I was sorry to hear of your father‘s passing. I had the opportunity to speak to him several times when walking in the neighborhood and his view of life and his illness was inspirational. He has always been a positive person. 

My memories involve his love for you both. Soccer games,  birthday parties, the pool in the backyard and especially the snow luge he built with you in the backyard.

I offer you our sympathy. The Robert family cherishes the memory of your dad and wishes you peace and comfort at this time. Stop by our house and see us any time.

Our ray of sunshine.

Love you.

Patty Jeric

As some of the shock has abated, I thought I might share my story with Dennis. He was a friend over 40 years and we had some great adventures. He had such a gift for bringing us together!

We met when we were enrolled in a food production and service class at MSU and were assigned to the same team to create and serve a dinner. We landed the plum job of welcoming a group of Air Force club managers at MSU for a seminar. We had a blast and got all A’s. During that class, he had to find a new place, and I had just moved into a duplex. We ended up sharing the basement rooms for our Senior year. $90 a month! He worked for ASMSU, and I was a Sous Chef for Robert’s, a pretty fancy spot for back then. We studied occasionally and partied a lot – he was in charge of ticket distribution for concerts so we could decide where we wanted to sit. Fond memories of Stoddard Street. We also did an independent study for FoMoCo at a plant Don Thyssen (sp?) managed, “consulting” on their food service. I understand they used some of our suggestions, and, mentored by the Director of the hotel school, we got A’s again.

After graduation, he went to the Hyatt Dearborn and did the Super Bowl, and I went to NYC. After a couple of years I got a job managing the King Cole Room at the St. Regis Hotel when I discovered that they needed a Manager for the nightclub, Astor’s. Some pretty famous acts played there like Mel Torme. Having known Dennis and his high energy, I called him to come to NY. He did a great job building up the business.

After a bit, I moved on to the Soho Wine Bar, and invited him to come on as Catering Director. We built that up and he stayed on after I left. Later on, he tells me that he was catering a party, and this purported Mafia guy (who thought he owned SoHo) was abusing a bartender. Dennis fiercely protected his Associate, and the guy ran off. Subsequently, Radz got a visit from the cops, who advised him to get out of town since this Mafia guy would be out for revenge. So, back to MI! 

While in NYC, he unsurprisingly made a number of lifelong friends as well.

We always kept tabs since then and I always looked forward to visiting him on Summer breaks from school (got into teaching). I was so happy to share him with my other good Michigan friends and they really hit it off. We are all very saddened by his passing, to say the least.