07/23/2024
Bertrand Orr Dennison was born March 11, 1935, in Knoxville, Iowa the son of Robert and Beatrice (Orr) Dennison.
He attended Knoxville schools and graduated with the Class of 1954.
On September 5, 1955, Bert was united in marriage to Roberta Fast at the First United Methodist Church in Knoxville.
The couple lived in Des Moines where Bert was a barber. He served in the United States Army from January 1958 until December 1959 mostly in Stuttgart, Germany.
He was in Headquarters VIII Corps and was a map maker. Following his honorable discharge, Bert and Roberta made their home in Des Moines for a few years before returning to the Knoxville area. Bert had an amazingly strong work ethic; as a boy, he was a newspaper carrier and a shoe shiner at Cooper’s, and in high school, he worked at Braida’s Grocery.
As an adult, he had not one job, but three: he was a barber, farmer, and realtor. He was a founding partner of the Red Rock Lake View Subdivision.
He was a barber long enough to cut three generations of hair in several families and he loved the 150-year-old Dennison Family Farm.
In his retirement, Bert continued cutting hair at a shop in Lacona and farmed.
As Bert’s health began to fail, Roberta was at his side, taking care of him, just as she had their entire marriage.
Bert passed away on July 23, 2024, at the Comfort House, in Pella, at the age of 89 years.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Robert and Beatrice; siblings: Melvin, Eldon, Phyllis, and Nancy and his grandson, Corey Lee.
Those left to cherish Bert’s memory include his loving wife of over 68 years, Roberta; daughters: Laura (Mike) Bandow of Grinnell, Iowa; Amy (Bob) Lee of Knoxville and Beth (Greg) Van Zante of Carlisle; grandchildren: Mark Ballotti and Lia Ballotti; Danny (Amy) Lee, Emily (Addison) Spear and Farah (Austin) Proefrock, and Carly (Eli) Riessen and Josie Van Zante; 3 great-grandchildren; siblings: Brenda (Dwight) Mater and Paul (Joyce) Dennison and many other family members and friends.