Good evening friends.

Our friend Dennis passed away this morning. He suffers no more. He had stage four liver, spinal and bone cancer that had spread everywhere. Jessica was at the hospital 6 to 8 hours a day for the last three weeks. The pain he was in can be compared to the pain that Prisoners of War have felt.

The reports I was getting from Jessica and Mother, Jo Ann were hard to bear. Thank God he is now at peace. God showed him mercy. It could have easily played out another 6 months, as it often does. And that is no way to live.

I will share a quick story about Dennis and connect it right up until when I spoke to him 6 nights ago on the phone for the last time.

As Jessica mentioned, when my father died in 1984, about a year later, we had to move from our house. It was a huge house with an indoor swimming pool. The pool room was as big as a house in itself. So Dennis and his crew had a very big job ahead of them moving us from that house to another house.

After my mother closed on the big house and everything was moved out, we still technically owned it for a few more days. It was 1985 and I was in a serious relationship at 15. My girlfriend was only 14. She was the same girl that was on that boat that went on fire with my friends and I on it, that I recently shared with all of you. Her nickname to me and all my friends was “Sweetie” — So I asked Sweetie if should would come stay over the big house for the last official night that we owned it. She said; “But everything was moved out” — “I said I know, lets get our pillows, blankets and of course my fan and spend the night there”. I use a fan to sleep at night right up until these days to help drown out any outside noises. The fan makes a steady consistent noise and helps me sleep. Anyway, Sweetie said she was in.

So we got to the house around 9 pm. We Laid down on the hard floor with our blankets, pillows and fan, and were just kind of laughing that we were actually doing this despite the sadness of the overall realities.

About an hour later, we started to hear all this noise of people talking and laughing from the pool room. We were like “holy _hit, has this house been broken into”? — So we went to check it out , and lord have mercy, Dennis and his whole moving crew were swimming in the indoor pool having a blast and sipping on champagne. My girl was in shock. I said don’t worry, these are my friends. She was like: “Since when?” — I was like, “since two weeks ago when they started moving us out”. So we hung out with Dennis and his crew for a few hours, and as usual Dennis lifted my spirits , and my girl was happy to see me happy. Over the years, Sweetie and Dennis became very close as well, just like many of my other friends did too.

Dennis was my friend, my mentor, my marshal arts instructor and a father figure for sure. I couldn’t wait to get home to hang with him and take Karate classes all the way through high school and college. I kid you not, he was our family’s own Anthony Robbins (The world rebound life coach and such). Dennis had a soulful smile and positive outlook on life. He walked the walk. You couldn’t be negative around him, it would never last. He always unraveled my negativity and exchanged it with hope.

I will fast forward from 1985 to six nights ago on the phone with him in September of 2015. I told him he made the world a better place for all those around him. I asked him if he was going to pull through because the world needs him. He said; “I’m getting stronger every day”. That was six nights ago. My point is to say, despite the excruciating pain, and basically zero odds of pulling through by that point, he left this life on a positive note. His commitment to being positive was unbreakable, its was non negotiable. Guess who that reminded me of ? —  You got it, Judy Olsen. I spoke to Judy on the phone two weeks before she died, and she did not budge on her sense of humor or her faith.

Dennis, you made the world a better place like nobody I’ve ever seen. I hope you find Judy Olsen, Barry Smith, and our friend Michael that past away last month. What a crew that would make. We will all meet again one day, and then it will be all of us together forever. I love you.

“If They Ever Tell My Story, Let them say I Walked with Giants. Let Them Say I Lived in the time of Dennis Brown”

No lives will go in vain, no pain will go unnoticed.  Dr. Harp Seal and Scott Smith for Sammy & Family.

Good evening dear friends and family,

I hope this post finds everyone safe and well. I need to say thank you from the bottom of my heart to all of you who have been so kind as to pray for our dearest friend, Dennis, who is truly  a very significant Member of my family.  I’ve been referring to him as “D” in order to protect his privacy , but at this time I feel it’s important to mention him by his true name.

At 13 years old, following the devastating loss of my father Barry, we were moving from our home to another one across the other side of our town. Another very beloved person in our hearts, named Dotsie, who treated Scott and I like her own children and was hired when we were babies to take care of us, brought over a few men from her neighborhood that she trusted, to help my family move our belongings.

That was the day I encountered one of the most beautiful and glowing spirits that I had ever known, my Dennis. I was very on guard at the time and so was Scott. Even my mother was. We were like burning rubble after a terrible accident. We were destroyed by my fathers death. We were in ruins.

I didn’t trust a living soul and I felt very afraid of the outside world. I came toward the kitchen where I heard someone laughing and talking with my mother. The voice was so full of warmth and joy. The laughter so innocent and comforting. I could feel his soul just from the sound of his voice. I turned into the kitchen and there he was. A beautiful and magical man.  On the outside you could see his strength and see his energy. I’ll never forget to this day the vision of him and the feeling of being in the light of his presence. There is something so spiritually divine about him.

Dennis has always been incredibly wise. He had seen a lot in his life, but he had the most positive mindset and had hope for everything and everyone. Immediately my fear was dissipated. Not only was I not afraid of him, as I was at that time of most people, but instead I was drawn to him. I felt even then in the beginning that there was some heavenly reason that he had come into our lives. Our whole home was filled with his energy, love, music and hope again. When he went home that night, we already missed his light and his presence until he came again the next day. It was the beginning of some sort of healing for Scott and my mother and I, and he was the healer. There was a reason greater than us, that we had crossed his path. He was always one of Gods messengers, one of his most powerful Angels. This is who Dennis is.

After the move, my mother hired him to work with us full time. He helped with everything and everyone in our family. He gathered us up from the wreckage and brought love and hope for a future for us again. Where my father had left, Dennis seemed to have stepped into his place. My father was not replaceable and neither was Dennis. Separate and apart, they both had their own magnificent entities.

I saw the difference Dennis made in Scotts life through those years. In a sense I feel that Dennis saved my brother in so many ways. I saw my brother smile again. I heard him laugh again. He gave Scott strength to go on after the heartbreak that he had endured. We all felt stronger and safer when Dennis was around us, and we still do.

We were never parted from Dennis after we met him. We always loved him and we always will.  He is so important to all of my family. No matter where we moved, where he moved, or what was happening in our lives, he was always our angel.

Dennis is still in the hospital tonight , and he is in the fight of his life against cancer. If anyone can beat this monster, it is our Dennis. And if anyone should be spared any pain or suffering, it is this extraordinary man who saved us and saved so many countless others. Everyone that knows Dennis adores him. He makes everyone feel like someone special and the reason for that is, that he sees the goodness in everyone, he really believes in the gift inside each and everyone that he meets.

Please, if we can ask you all again, please continue to pray for Dennis. Without him, life would be unimaginable. Not just for us, but for so many others that have been touched by him. We pray for him tonight , so that he can be restored to his full and optimal health. We pray that he is carried through this by God, and by the Angels he seems to have always walked beside all of his life. Dear God hear our prayers. In the name of all that is goodness, all that is kindness, and for all the love he has always given, please heal our Dennis. And please pray for his very loving family, who is so worried and struggling. In spite of it all , they still have hope.

No lives will go in vain. No pain will go unnoticed.  Amen.

Love from ,
Jessica Lee Smith,
For Sammy & Family