ROCKPORT: William H. Dennen, 87, died Sunday, January 20, 2008 in the Joanne’s House at Hope Hospice in Bonita Springs, Florida. He was the husband of Shirley (Anderson) Coombs Dennen.
Born in Gloucester on April 8, 1920, he was the son of the late William L. and Ruth (Lufkin) Dennen. He was a U. S. Marine Corps veteran of World War II and continued on serving in the reserves until 1964, where he retired as a Lt. Colonel. Mr. Dennen received his B.S. degree in Geology from M.I.T. in 1942 and PhD from M.I.T. in 1949. He was an Eagle Scout at the young age of 14.
He first worked as an instructor in 1949 at M.I.T. and continued as an Assistant Professor from 1952-1957 and as an Associate Professor from 1957-1967. He then went to the University of Kentucky where he was a Professor from 1967-1972, served as chairman of the Geology Dept. from 1967-1972 and was the Acting Dean of the Graduate School from 1970-1972. He was also the Director of Cabot Spectrographic Lab in the mid 1950’s and from 1972-1983. He was involved in consulting and exploration in Pennsylvania, Nevada, Yukon Territory, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Colorado, Maine, Spain, Venezuela, Ecuador, Brazil, Australia, Liberia, Guinea and Ghana. Mr. Dennen was also instrumental with the United States Geologic Survey, publishing bedrock maps for Cape Ann, Ipswich and Marblehead. He also published numerous technical articles and textbooks including “Principles of Mineralogy”, “Geology and Engineering” and “Mineral Resources.”
In addition to his wife of thirteen years, he is survived by two sons, William Dennen of Leesburg, VA and Peter Dennen of Harrodsburg, KY, a daughter, Susan Dennen De Rodriguez of Tlalpan Mexico, a brother, Richard Dennen of Palos Verdes, CA, a stepson, David Coombs of Ft. Walton Beach, FL, a stepdaughter, Barbara Thompson of San Francisco, CA, nine grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. He was also predeceased by his first wife, Charlotte (Davidson) Dennen and a brother, David Dennen.
A memorial service will be held in the Trinity Congregational Church, Middle St., Gloucester on Saturday April 12th at 11 a.m. Relatives and friends are cordially invited to attend. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in his memory to the Hope Hospice, 9470 Healthpark Circle, Ft. Myers, FL 33908. Interment will be held in the Beechbrook Cemetery, W. Gloucester.