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Ripley: Marie Susan Dennis, 90, a long-time resident of Ripley, passed away on Wednesday, July 25, 2019 at Brookdale Senior Living in Portage, Michigan following a long illness.
She was born on April 17, 1929 in Kenosha, Wisconsin, a daughter of the late Adolph and Cecelia (Schwartz) Ziebarth. At age six her family was separated and she lived at the Good Will Orphanage in Houghton. She was raised as a foster daughter of Bertha Kampschafer of Hancock.
Marie was an honor student graduate of Hancock High School in 1948 and then worked for the law firm of Lawton & Lawton of Hancock for several years. In 1966 she began working in the Army ROTC Department at MTU for five years and then in the Math Department until her retirement in 1988.
She was married to Thomas Dennis on July 27, 1950 at the First United Methodist Church in Hancock and they celebrated their Golden Wedding Anniversary in 2000.
She was a member of the First United Methodist Church where she taught Sunday School for 15 years. She was a life member of the Michigan Association of Retired School Personnel, the Ripley Valley Neighbors, Copper Country Audubon Club, and the Hancock High School Alumni Association. She enjoyed picking wild berries, gardening, canning, knitting, crocheting, and quilting.
Besides her parents, she was also preceded in death by her husband, Tom, a grandson, Peter Grams, and sister, Gladys Ziebarth.
She is survived by her children: Mark (Joy) Dennis of Hancock, Susan (James) Murray of Portage, MI, and Mary (David) Grams of Grafton, WI; 10 grandchildren: Daniel (Amy) Dennis, Jeffrey (Christine) Dennis, Matthew (Emily) Dennis, Thomas (Jennifer) Murray, Michael (Kathryn) Murray, Philip (Amanda) Murray, Joseph Grams, Jacob Grams, Timothy Grams, and John Grams; great-grandchildren: Ariel, Walter, Rose, Kirsten, Cale, Brady, Ridley, Savannah, Dahlia, Tucker, Benjamin, Margaret, Cooper, and Zackary; her brother, John (Marjorie) Hanke of Hancock; long-time friends, Eleanore Keranen and Claire Chaput; and by many nieces, nephews, and cousins.
Funeral services will be held at the First United Methodist Church in Hancock on Wednesday, July 31, 2019 at 11:00 A.M. with Rev. Scott Lindenberg to officiate. Burial will be at Forest Hill Cemetery in Houghton.
Friends may call at the Church for an hour before the funeral on Wednesday. The O’Neill-Dennis Funeral Home of Hancock is in charge of the arrangements.
Memorials in lieu of flowers may be directed to the First United Methodist Church in the name of Marie Dennis.
