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1924 William 2013

William Dennison

June 22, 1924 — March 5, 2013

WILLIAM C. DENNISON
Financial Comptroller and “Renaissance Handyman”
William C. Dennison, 88, a resident of Frederick County since 1986, died on Tuesday, March 5 at Kline Hospice House in Mount Airy.  He had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s-type dementia.  A native of Grayson County, KY, and a World War II veteran, Bill Dennison was born on a farm on June 22, 1924.  Immediately after graduation from high school in 1942, he enlisted in the U.S. Army Signal Corps and served as a radio repairman for four years.  After an honorable discharge in 1946, he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in physics and mathematics from Western Kentucky State Teachers College (now Western Kentucky University) in 1949. He worked for a time as a high school math teacher before joining the American Agricultural Chemical Company as a salesman, later becoming a plant manager for the company in Johnson City, TN.  After further studies in accounting, he served as Financial Comptroller for the Wilmington, DE office of a successor business, the Farm Chemical Division of the Williams Company, until his retirement in 1986. Mr. Dennison was a member of St John’s Catholic Church in Frederick and was active in the St. Vincent de Paul Society, the Frederick Food Bank, and the Linton Cold Weather Shelter.  Known to family, friends, and co-workers as a “Renaissance handyman,” Mr. Dennison was a self-taught expert carpenter, electrician, and all-round handy person.  After his retirement, he gave generously of his time, energy, and special talents to a number of additional charities, including numerous Habitat for Humanity projects throughout the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States, and the Christian Appalachian Project in eastern Kentucky.  For these organizations, he spent his winters not only in hands-on carpentry work, but also in training and supervising more than 400 students from 42 different colleges as part of the Habitat Collegiate Challenge program. He particularly enjoyed repairing and restoring houses in the poorer parts of Appalachia, and spent countless hours in his workshop making a variety of wooden toys and games for children in Appalachia. Mr. Dennison is survived by his wife of 63 years, Lucy Beeler Dennison, former Chair of Home Economics at Hood College in Frederick; his sons, William J. of Falls Church, VA, and Wendell C. of Lilburn, GA, and daughters-in-law, Judith and Laura; his grandson, William C. (and wife Jessica), granddaughter, Katy Dennison Debardelaban (and husband Parker); and one sister, Mrs. Doris Grant of Grayson County, Kentucky.  Mr. Dennison’s parents, Joe C. Dennison and Myrtle Armstrong Dennison, and his three brothers, Clifford, Charles, and Tom, preceded him in death. Family will receive friends on Friday, March 8, 2013 from 7-9 PM at Stauffer Funeral Homes P.A., 1621 Opossumtown Pike, Frederick, MD 21702. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Saturday, March 9, 2013 at 11:00 AM at St John the Evangelist Roman Catholic Church, 118 East Second Street, Frederick, MD 21701.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Christian Appalachian Project, Mt. Vernon, KY  40456, or to a charity of your choice.

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