Dennis Lee Mathews

Dennis Lee Mathews, 74, of Denver, passed away on October 16, 2021, at Presbyterian/St. Luke's Medical Center, after a lengthy, hard-fought, valiant battle against cancer. His daughters were with him at the time of his passing.

Dennis was born on March 10, 1947, in Denver, Colorado. He graduated from Englewood High School in 1965. He served in the United States Navy from 1966-1970, as an aircraft mechanic working on ejection seats onboard the USS Bennington aircraft carrier.

Dennis became a master electrician and operated his own electrical contracting business, Mathews Electric, Inc., serving the unique needs of many industrial customers and employing a total of four employees besides himself. Mathews Electric, Inc., is still operating today, a legacy in which Dennis took much pride.

Dennis married Hazel Deets in 1971, and Hazel and Dennis raised two daughters, as well as many dogs, in Northwest Denver. Dennis was predeceased by his wife, Hazel Mathews, in 2018. Dennis is survived by his daughters, Elizabeth Mathews and Carolyn (Toby) Warren, both of Denver, and his grandson Harrison Warren of Denver, age 7. Dennis is also survived by his sister, Denise Mathews, of Denver, cousins including Tim Mohler of Meeker, CO and Marilyn Damico of Englewood, CO, three nieces and one nephew.

Burial will be at Fort Logan National Cemetery on Tuesday, November 2, 2021. A shelter service with full military honors will take place at staging area A (shelter A) at 10:00 a.m., followed by a reception at Newcomer mortuary at 901 S. Sheridan Blvd., Denver, CO 80226 from 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. Cookies, lemonade and coffee will be provided. Guests are welcome to wear masks if they wish.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to The American Cancer Society (cancer.org), St. Jude Hospital (stjude.org), or Rolling Dog Ranch (rollingdogranch.org). Please also consider volunteering in your community and donating blood (vitalant.org) as ways to honor Dennis. Dennis was dependent upon blood and platelet transfusions for months at the end of his life due to blood cancer.

Dennis faithfully decorated Hazel's grave with flowers, once or twice per week, despite any kind of weather, from the time of her death in June, 2018, until he became too ill to make the trips in March, 2021. Another great way to honor Dennis and Hazel is to decorate their grave at Fort Logan National Cemetery, section 36, site 478. You'll be able to spot their tombstone easily - it is the only one in the area with an emblem of a United States flag and a German Shepherd - the perfect emblem for this patriotic pair who loved dogs, especially German Shepherds! The ritual of decorating Mom's grave meant a lot to Dad. We are certain he would be honored by this caring gesture from his friends as well as his family.

Dennis's daughters request that you please leave comments in response to this obituary - we will check for these and we look forward to reading what you have to share about Dennis as we mourn the loss of such a sweet and gentle soul embodied in the kind, caring, wise, inventive, hardworking man whom we were blessed to know as our dad.