By james art 
Dennis was born on September 20, 1958. to Eva Mae and John Gilbert Hatch in Phoenix, Arizona. He had two older brothers, Ken and Jerry, and a younger brother, Darryl. The family moved to San Diego, California when Dennis was about 3 years old.
Growing up, Dennis enjoyed family life, growing up with lots of games, street baseball, and the typical antics of his older brothers. Church activities, youth groups, and mission trips as a teenager were important and influential in his walk with God.
His family enjoyed trailer or tent camping and enjoyed beautiful places such as the mountains of San Diego County as well as Tahoe, Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks. One of his adventures was a backpacking trip with his brother Jerry to the top of the San Jacinto Mountains in Riverside County, California. He really enjoyed the trip, but since he was an avid football fan, he thought that night he might as well be at home and watch the Chargers football game instead of spending the night in a cold tent and sleeping on the ground. However, it was more important to him to be with his brother, enjoying their time together and having the chance to catch up and share a few laughs.
He and his three brothers went backpacking in the northern part of Yosemite National Park, where one evening they were visited by a bear that got into their food. Although this shortened their trip, it also made it a lot of fun and gave them a lot to tell others. The four remained as close as brothers and managed to keep in touch with each other despite living in different cities across the country – Dennis in Ocala, Florida; Daryl in Oceanside, California; and Jerry and Ken in Damascus, Oregon.
Dennis was a talented man with a knack for working with his hands, which led him to work as a facilities, maintenance and HVAC technician at the University of San Diego and the San Diego Symphony Towers. He met the love of his life, Siobhan, and they married in 1988. They moved to Florida where he worked in the Marion County Facilities Department until his retirement in September 2020. Dennis and Siobhan loved to travel and were particularly fond of taking cruises, the last of which took them to far off and exotic lands such as Thailand, Singapore and Indonesia. He always enjoyed the warm weather and was a passionate fan of Mexican food, even growing his own chili peppers for a more authentic flavor.
Faith in Jesus was very important to Dennis and his love for God shaped the way he lived. He loved music and was a talented drummer and bassist. He was a “rocker”. Although he liked hard, rough things, God was not put off by his taste in music. Groups that spoke of God’s grace, mercy and love were his favorites. But he knew all kinds of music, which surprised a lot of people like the time Dennis helped deliver some furniture for his niece Lauren when she was in college. Lauren was playing the Ramones (with typical college power) from her truck radio and Dennis seemed to know all the words. His brother Jerry looked at him and thought, “Who is that guy?” It was Dennis – Dennis was funny! His brother Jerry remembers how their conversations always came back to music.
Dennis loved people. He loved his wife, his family, his church, his colleagues and his neighbors. His brother Daryl and others remember that about Dennis because of the way Dennis talked about people; they never complain and always have nothing but positive things to say about them. But most of all he loved God. This is manifested not only in his relationships, but also in his prayer life. Dennis was a prayer warrior through and through! Whenever his brother Daryl talked to him on the phone, Dennis invariably told him what he was praying for for his family and never missed a chance to add a new concern to his prayer list.
In the spring of 2024. Dennis was diagnosed with cancer. He died on Sunday, October 27, 2024. and was welcomed into the loving arms of his savior.
Dennis was preceded in death by his mother and father, Eva May and John Gilbert Hatch, and his mother-in-law, Eva Kitzman. Dennis is survived by his loving wife Siobhan, three brothers and their wives Ken (Barb), Jerry (Dee), Daryl (Diana), several nieces and nephews, a brother and sister-in-law and a loving church family.
His wife, brothers, family and friends will miss their conversations with Dennis so much.
We will miss you Dennis.