02 January 2012

Ancestral Profile # 2: Dennis Joseph McHugh

Ancestor Name:                  Dennis Joseph McHugh       AKA's:Mac, Denny, Dennis the Menace
Relationship to Me:           Father
Date of Birth:                      17 Jan 1937                      Place:  Nanticoke, Luzerne County, PA
Parents:                               Joseph Dennis McHugh
                                            Mary Hodick

Date of Marriage:                 6 Jun 1959                       Spouse:  Regina "Jean" Ann O'Rourke
Number of Children:                  3                                 Date Widowed: 13  Nov 1988    
Number of Grandchildren:        3
Number of Great-Grandchildren: 4; 1 in Heaven, a fifth due in February 2012

Date of Marriage:   Mar 1992                                      Spouse: Frances Smith
Number of Step-Children: 2                                          Date Widowed: 21 Jul 2007  
Number of Step-Grandchildren:5


Date of Death:                    15 Feb 2010      Place: Tucson, Pima County, Arizona
Buried:                                27 Feb 2010       Place:  Queen of Heaven, Mesa, Maricopa County, Arizona

Schools:   
Trott Vocational School, Niagara Falls, Niagara County, NY

Employers:
Carborundum  (Niagara Falls, Niagara County, NY)
Countryside Disposal    (Niagara Falls, Niagara County, NY)
Schlitz (Phoenix, Maricopa County, AZ)
Brown Tire (Phoenix, Maricopa County, AZ)


Special Interests:
Bowling into young adulthood.
Volunteer Firefighter for Lewiston #2 Fire Co., Niagara Falls, Niagara County, NY
Camping
CB Radio User (hence the "nickname"/"handle" Dennis the Menace" listed above)


Notable Notes:
  •  Dennis survived childhood polio
  • Dennis spent many years as a volunteer firefighter and served as captain in 1969.
  • Dennis also spent many years coaching his children's football teams for the  Niagara Wheatfield Athletic Association (NWAA).
  • Dennis was once a member of a CB Radio Club known as "the Buzzards".  One of his CB contacts was partially responsible for our family settling in Tempe, Az after moving from Niagara Falls in 1977.
  • Dennis and a buddy in Tempe once started their own solar water heating company -- called Valley Solar -- long before the Green movement began.
  • Contrary to his obituary, Dennis died 15 Feb 2010 in Tucson, Az  His last days (as well as his wives') were a testament to the blessings that Hospice can bring to a family in crisis.


Photo Gallery: