Dennis Lesiak, DDS

Dennis Lesiak was a remarkable man, a man who seemed as though he could do anything. He possessed amazing ambition, character and charisma, and a limitless energy that radiated to all those around him. Dennis was a compassionate dentist, a passionate husband, and a doting son and father. Most of all, he was a man who taught us that the only way to fail is to never try.

Dennis' story began on a cold winter day in 1955, in the motor capital of the world, Detroit. Those were such tumultuous times in this country, as the Cold War began heating up, and the Space Race was beginning. And John and Anna (Pieknik) Lesiak planned their own celebration, just after the calendar turned to 1955. On January 28, a frosty Friday in Detroit, the couple celebrated the birth of a baby boy, a son they named Dennis.

Dennis' father was a skilled trades worker, a machinist in a local factory, while his mother cared for the home and he and his older sister Paula. The family lived on the east side in the city of Oak Park, and Dennis was raised in a strong Polish Catholic tradition. He led a typically active childhood, joining the Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts, where city boy fostered his lifelong love of the outdoors. He also developed a strong work ethic at a young age, with a large paper route.

Dennis was a handsome, outgoing young boy, with thick, curly hair. He attended Our Lady of Fatima Elementary, before graduating high school at St. Mary's Preparatory at Orchard Lake. Dennis was an enormously bright young man, with a great study habit, and excelled at school. After high school he went to the University of Michigan for his undergraduate degree, and then graduated from the University of Michigan Dental School in 1981, earning his Doctorate of Dental Surgery.

Dennis performed his dental residency in Utica, New York in 1981, and the following year, he moved back to Michigan, to the Kalamazoo area. He saw the area as an opportunity, and started his own practice in Mattawan, in the former Plaza Mall near I-94. Nearly 20 years later, he would move the business to a new office building he built on Red Arrow Highway in 2001.

His professional career booming, his personal life was beginning to bloom, as well. He attended a Singles Professional Meeting in Kalamazoo in March of 1987, when a lovely woman named Patti Murray walked up to him and introduced herself. The two connected that day, and soon fell in love. They were married on June 10, 1989, at St. Thomas More Catholic Parish, beginning a wonderful life together.

Dennis was a terrific husband, and eventually, father. He and Patti were blessed with two beautiful children, first with daughter Laura in 1990, and with son Jonathan in 1993. The family lived in Dennis' farmhouse on Red Arrow Highway that he bought when he moved to the area. He loved that home, for its history (it was built in 1837!), for its memories, having restored it completely, and for the 19 acres of land it sat on, being the outdoorsman he was.

Dennis loved living in the country, and operated a Christmas tree farm in addition to his dental practice. Naturally, Christmastime was very special in the Lesiak home, with nine trees decorated for the occasion each year! Five were real, and four were artificial. Christmas was his favorite holiday, and he enjoyed spending time with his family most of all. Any day the family was together was a great day for Dennis.

Dennis was a simply wonderful family man, with such a love for tradition and doing for others. He was also a very "Type-A" kind of guy, very outgoing, with a need to complete his goals as perfectly as possible. He had high expectations for himself, and for his family, yet usually attained his goals through determination, talent, and drive. He could be impatient at times, but he was a kind, gentle, tenderhearted romanticist - and optimist. Dennis possessed a remarkable, "Do anything, try anything," spirit, his unofficial credo.

In 1998, he built a new home on the property. The beautiful new family home came complete with wood from his property, which he had cut, dried himself in a kiln, and then milled That was Dennis, though, equal parts inspiration and perspiration, always up for any task even if it was midnight. He just seemed to have more hours in his day than the rest of us. He was always up for any activity, as well. Dennis enjoyed skiing, golfing, racquet sports, and deer hunting with his friend, Joe Tetreau (although just as an excuse to be outdoors, he never wanted to kill an animal). He had a limitless energy, and was perpetually late because he always had so much going on!

He was active in his parish at St. John Bosco in Mattawan, with the St. Vincent DePaul Society, which helps the needy and seniors, and was a member of the Paw Paw Knights of Columbus, as well. He also enjoyed the arts, from the symphony to concerts to plays, and loved to travel, also. A self-professed "omnivore," Dennis loved food of all kinds, and would try anything. He always laughed that his body had a special compartment just for desserts! Family and friends were an essential element of Dennis. When his mother needed assistance, he moved her to the old family farmhouse in November of 2004 and dedicated himself to her care.

Sadly, Dennis died suddenly on Wednesday, October 25, 2006, at the home he helped build. He was a truly remarkable man, with a remarkable life. He was blessed with so much in his life, blessed with so many successes and triumphs. He had a beautiful family, and a limitless energy, and a never-ending optimism. Do anything, try anything. That was Dennis' greatest lesson to us. His lessons, and his love, live on in all who knew him. He will be greatly missed.

Learn more about Dennis view his Life Story Film and visit with his family and friends Sunday from 4:00-8:00 PM at the Life Story Funeral Home-Betzler 6080 Stadium Dr, Kalamazoo 375-2900. Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated Monday 11:00 AM at St. John Bosco Catholic Church. Interment Maple Grove Cemetery. Food and fellowship will follow the mass at the parish hall. Dennis was preceded in death by his father, John. Members of his family include his wife, Patti, 2 children; Laura and Jonathan, his mother; Anna Lesiak and his sister; Paula (Mark) Kovalsky of Britton, MI. Please visit Dennis's personal web page at www.lifestorynet.com where you can read his life story, archive a favorite memory, order flowers, upload photo's or make a memorial contribution to the Michigan Heart Association.