RAPID CITY | Dennis Arthur Grosshans passed away Friday, Oct. 26, 2018, after only two days of Comfort Care at the Hospice House, with his wife Jane holding his hand and a compassionate nurse tending to him. It was the peaceful death he wanted and deserved, after many years of living with several serious health conditions.

Dennis was born June 20, 1942, in Fargo, ND, to Dorothy McNerney and Richard Grosshans. He spent his entire childhood in Fargo, making wonderful memories with his friends, particularly Ken Harris and Chris Smith. The three of them remained friends throughout his life. In fact, Ken and Chris and their wives traveled to Rapid City from Florida and Minnesota to visit Dennis a few years ago, which was a special time for Dennis.

Dennis wrote his own obituary a while back. In his own words, this has been his life. Those of you who knew Dennis will recognize two of his best qualities, humor and humility.

Here is a breakdown of my past...actually, it looks more like a job resume? Oh well, here goes:

1960 After high school graduation, I thought I needed to get married. My wise father thought I should cool my libido and go live with my older brother in Denver. GOOD CHOICE! Then, I thought I'd become a cowboy and moved to Horsecreek, Wyoming. Ho! Ho! Ho! Buckaroo I wasn't. Then, back to Valley City, North Dakota to go to college for two years majoring in English. My English teacher there conned me into going to acting school at Goodman School of Fine Arts in Chicago. AWAY I GO...

1964 Started on the road to become "Paul Newman". Four years later, I graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree after trying desperately to keep my grades down to average. I spent a lot of time backstage and sleeping through History of the Theatre.

1968 I moved to Los Angeles, with degree in hand, to out-do Paul Newman. I ended up pumping gas and driving a tow truck as a more lucrative method of survival.

1970 I got together with an acquaintance from North Dakota, Merilyn Petersen. She soon became my wife and she worked as a librarian while I was picking my nose and pumping gas. Ho, Ho, Ho, Mr. Goodwrench I was NOT! I got tired of the Los Angeles smog and moved to Vermillion, SD to work on my Master of Fine Arts degree in theatre. Again, I spent a lot of time backstage and sleeping through more History of the Theatre.

1972 I managed to finagle a one-year fellowship at Tufts University theatre department in Boston. I spent the school year teaching students how to make scenery...I didn't bother with any more history of the theatre!!! I then moved back to Fargo wondering what to do next. Merilyn heard of a school librarian position in Las Vegas and AWAY WE GO!!! Armed with my Masters Degree in Fine Arts, I secured a job as a blue collar worker in a sign company. I was backstage a lot! During these years, we did some traveling during the summers. We traveled to England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and Australia. I loved them all, and I noticed the people talk funny!!

1983 We had an amicable end to our marriage (things go that way sometimes) and I moved to Rapid City, SD, where most of my family lived I worked again at a sign company for a while and then as in-house carpenter for the Alex Johnson hotel, and then for another sign company.

1986 I don't know i f I quit or got fired they happened at the same time! So, I was unemployed for a while, which didn't settle with me, so I decided to become self-employed, or was it unemployed by myself???? With the encouragement of my girlfriend, Jane Thompson, I opened my own custom woodworking business. I named it the Woodcutter's Studio.

1987 I married Jane, who was a self employed counselor dealing with child abuse, family violence, miserable marriages and other related woes. We took a honeymoon vacation to Nassau for a week. It was Jane's first vacation out of the United States, ever! Thereafter, Jane gets the vacation fever and AWAY WE GO, to Puerta Vallarta, Santa Fe, New Orleans, Ixtapa, and regular trips to Minnesota and Wyoming too! We also enjoyed spending time with family and friends, plus our hobbies of gardening, crosswords, and candlemaking.

1996 — 2008 Journeys to Cabo San Lucas, Cabo San Lucas, Cabo San Lucas with friends, Marshall and Brenda. These last three places are all located at the very end of the southern tip of Baja, California, which is a great place to watch whales and drink cervesa. People there talk funny also!! Also, a trip to England and Ireland with friends Chuck and Ellen, and Ellen's parents, Jim and Ginny. Ireland is a great place to eat potato dishes and drink Guiness. People talk funny in England and Ireland too!!

2009 Because of my spinal cord injury in 1957, I began having more and more problems getting around and also survived surgeries for two different types of cancer. Other than that, I enjoy relatively good health and never seem to have enough time for everything that I want to do. Enough of this!!

Dennis signed off here in 2009. Although his health and mobility continued to decline, he never failed to make us laugh. His droll sense of humor, hilarious puns, one liners, plays on words, and that ever present twinkle in his eye, made him a joy for all who encountered him. Dennis' beautifully crafted wood creations live on, as does his humor, for all who knew and loved him.

He was preceded in death by his parents; his older brother, Roland Grosshans; sister-in-law, Rhonda Taves; and mother-in-law, Lorraine Thompson Hermanson. Dennis is survived by his wife, Jane Thompson; sister-in-law, Linda Grosshans; nephews, Brian, Mark and Jared Grosshans; his sister, Barb Lamb and her husband Dennis Lamb; nephew, Brendan Lamb, his wife Whitney and children Brenn and Will; his niece, Meaghan Lamb Hennings and her husband Jess and children Collin and Carson; and his nephews, Mike Lamb and Tim Lamb. He is also survived by his sister-in-law, Judy Blauer and her husband Steve, their children, Scott Blauer and his children Alise and Drew, and Steph Kay, and her children Trista and Shasta; his brother-in-law, Judd Thompson and his wife, Linda, their children Jacob Thompson and his children Mercedes and Johanna, Seth Thompson and his wife, Mollie, and their son Huxley; and his brother-in-law, Jeff Thompson. Dennis had a special connection with his great-niece and family, Trista Myers, her husband Daric and children Joseph and Isabella. Although Dennis did not personally meet all his nieces and nephews, he loved receiving their photos at Christmas time and on Facebook!

Dennis had no rigid religious beliefs and believed that many world religions had merit. He did not believe there was only one way to a peaceful after life. At his request, there will be no funeral or memorial service. What he did want was a celebration of life, which he called the funeral party — the gathering of friends and family to share memories and perhaps make new emotional connections too. He also wants good food, drink and music! Cremation has taken place. Because he did not want anyone to feel obligated to "make an appearance" and our weather in winter, the celebration will be held in the summer of 2019 to allow everyone who wants to come to be able to make the trip. Details of the plans will be published in the RC Journal and will be available on social media.