Editor's Note: The following death notice is from the Benson & Langehough Funeral Home & Cremation website.
Bruce Dean Dennison was born on September 30, 1948, in Caledonia, MN, to Dean and Mary (Murry) Dennison. He was raised in Caledonia and graduated from Caledonia High School and Winona State University, where he met the love of his life, Kristin Olstad. Bruce and Kris were married on December 27, 1969, at Union Prairie Lutheran Church in Lanesboro. For 10 years, Bruce was an elementary school teacher, first in Cedar Rapids, IA, then in Apple Valley, MN. He then took a job with Keebler, which made him the most popular dad on the block, with a trunk full of cookies. After being told by a family friend that if he could sell cookies, he could sell insurance, he began his career with Thrivent Financial (then Aid Association for Lutherans). In 1979, Bruce and his family moved to Northfield. Bruce belonged to many professional organizations, served on the board of directors of the Northfield Retirement Community, and served as congregational president of St. Peter’s Lutheran Church more than once.Bruce was a talented do-it-yourselfer, landscaper, and woodworker, and a dedicated collector of coins, stamps, Danish plates, and Harry Potter memorabilia. He loved his three champion Bichons. Bruce embodied the very definition of a people person, someone who would talk to people in elevators and in line at the grocery store. He genuinely enjoyed and cared about others. He was especially devoted to and proud of his family, regaling clients, friends and new acquaintances with stories of his wife, children, grandchildren, and his dog Sammy.Bruce is survived by his wife of 43 years, Kristin, son Aaron (Fabia) of Pipa, Brazil, daughter Susan (Alex) Patist of San Diego, CA; grandchildren Nadia Patist, and Tazio and Zenio Dennison; brother David (Karen) of Chicago, IL, and sister Deanna (Jim) Riley of Chatfield. He was preceded in death by his parents and his sister, Joyce Dennison.Bruce passed away on Tuesday, June 25, 2013, at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis, at the age of 64. Funeral services will be held at 2:00 P.M. on Saturday, June 29, at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church, Northfield, with Pastor Janet White officiating. Visitation will be from 12:00-2:00 P.M. at the church. Interment will be at Union Prairie Cemetery in Lanesboro at a later date. Memorials are preferred to the American Cancer Society for cholangiocarcinoma research.