Obituary of LORI DENNIS

LORI DENNIS

1955-2023

Peacefully after a lengthy battle with cancer, Lori Dennis, 68, passed away at Riverview Health Center on December 11, 2023.  Lori was married to her high school sweetheart, Steve for 44 wonderful years. 

Lori was predeceased by her father, Donald Edward Zaharia. She is survived by her mother, Florence Hughes, and her brother, Donald Joseph Zaharia (Rachel).  Also survived by Steve’s siblings, Bob Dennis, Dave Dennis (Carmen), and Lisa (Lindon) Lambert. Lori was well supported during her illness by her cousins in the Sayer and Hughes families. Lori will be missed by her Uncle Gary Hughes and Aunt Mary in Fredericton.  Also, her dear uncle Ted in Edmonton and Aunt Pat Hughes in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Lori was born and mostly raised in Transcona. Her Mom and Dad owned and operated The Book Store on Bond Street. Lori started dating Steve when they were sixteen years old.  The 52-year romance included Bassett Hounds all the way.  More on that later.

Lori graduated from Murdock Mackay Collegiate and when on to graduate from the University of Winnipeg with a degree in Psychology. Steve and Lori married in 1979. Lori and Steve were true partners and Lori transferred residences many times to support Steve in his automotive career.  Lori always found interesting jobs along the way, working for the Saskatchewan Government, the PC Party of Manitoba, Valley Chev Olds, and Adesa Auto Auctions.  Lori also served on the Board of Regents for the University of Winnipeg, and the Clean Environment Commission. 

Lori was determined to build a new cottage at Rice Lake, and found the blueprints and ordered the material herself.  The old cabin was demolished by Lori and Steve and the new cabin was built in 1997. Lori and Steve loved the small community of Rice Lake, where their neighbors were mostly schoolmates from Transcona. Lori would ride into the Lake behind Steve on a snowmobile while carrying a Bassett Hound in her arms. Not to be outdone in the adventure lifestyle, Lori scuba dove in the Caribbean and the waters of Hudson Bay.  She rode on the back of the Harley for many trips with Steve and their friends Cathy and Glenn Cross.

Lori retired in 2014 and patiently waited for Steve to retire in 2016. From there it was a new adventure all the time. Lori and Steve found their Bassett, Abbie, in the first summer of retirement. They spent four wonderful years in Arizona. Over the years they would travel to Alaska, Vietnam, Cambodia, Italy, Mexico, Spain and Portugal. 

 Lori loved animals and she owned seven generations of hounds while married to Steve. Three of the dogs were rescues and people would say how lucky these dogs were for being rescued by Lori. 

Lori unfortunately found herself having breast cancer in May 2021, and was successfully treated by Dr. Jamie Gillespie, and that cancer was cured by August the same year.  With no time to celebrate Lori was found to have lung cancer.  In this fight, she was ably treated by Cancer Care Manitoba. Special thanks to Dr. James Paul, who notably extended Lori’s life and continued to be her doctor into and including palliative care. Lori pulled off a miracle in the middle of all this. She recovered from chemotherapy, grew her hair back, and travelled to Italy for four weeks with Steve in September 2022. She was walking three kilometers a day. Upon return, Lori was found to have a tumor in her cerebellum. This was treated with radiation and Lori once again lost and grew her hair back. Lori fought Cancer for another year.  

Lori was dubbed a warrior for her ability to take on all treatments and never complain.  Lori was a tough cookie when it came to fighting cancer, and her efforts to survive were amazing. Special thanks go to the wonderful staff at Riverview Hospital Palliative E Wing who assured that Lori was comfortable in her final days.  

According to Lori’s wishes cremation will take place and a private memorial service will be held.  Those not attending can view the service online at cropo.com commencing 3:00 p.m. Friday, December 15, 2023. The service can be viewed up to 30 days later.

In lieu of flowers, a donation can be made to either the Winnipeg Humane Society, or Cancer Care Manitoba.

“Do not let your hearts be troubled.

You believe in God; believe also in me.

My Fathers house has many rooms;

if that were not so, would I have told you that

I am going there to prepare a place for you?

And if I go and prepare a place for you,

I will come back and take you to be with me that you may also be where I am.

You know the way to the place where I am going.”

John 14