Remembering Denise: May 2009

Sunday, May 31, 2009

From Michael Arth

I took the picture of Denise on Padre Island in 1974 and the one with her beloved dog around 1979.

In January 1973, after a rare Texas snowstorm, Dee, Denise and I drove up to Grapevine Lake to look at the snow. Denise, as her usual rambunctious self, was itching to get out of the back seat and run around in the snow, even while complaining about how cold it was. Soon after that I made a lithographic drawing on a stone from the photo that for years hung in the living room at 501 Bell Drive. Later I also made an etching. The lithograph is a mirror image of the photograph because of the way it is printed. Whenever I see the image now I always think about how Denise was irrepressible in both beauty and spirit.

- Michael E. Arth

Christmas 2007

Denise with Greg, Katie and Maddie in December of 2007.

Obituary

Denise P. Englehart

Denise passed away Tuesday, April 28, 2009 after a brief illness.

Born in Texas, Denise and her family moved to Akron in 2001. Denise brought great joy and laughter to all who knew her. Her beautiful blue eyes and wonderful smile will be remembered by all. Aside from her family, her two favorite things were animals and children. No stray was ever left uncared for and every child felt loved in her presence. She was unique in so many ways.
Denise raised two wonderful daughters and nothing brought her greater joy. She was not only a wife, but a best friend to her husband.

We are all so very lucky to have had her as a wife, mother, daughter, sister, aunt, and friend. She will always remain in our hearts for the blessing she was to all of us.

Denise was preceded in death by her father, Donald; her aunt, Carolyn; her uncle, Tony; her cousin, Gregory; and dog Tucker.

Denise is survived by her husband, Greg; her daughters, Katie and Maddie; her mother, Margaret; her sisters, Dee Kelleher and husband Gary, Donna Juren and husband Gary, Debby Steffens and husband Ed, and Diane Dean and husband Kevin; brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law, Kim and Denton Wolf, Tom and Wendy Englehart; father-in-law and mothers-in-law, John and Martha Englehart, and Sue Foore; nieces and nephews, Aubrie, Abby, Emily, Carolyn, Margaret Anne, Patrick, Dylan, and Cameron; as well as, the wonderful Flanagan, Englehart, and Darrow families.

We would like to give a heartfelt thank you for all of the support from family and friends who showed Denise how much she was loved in her final days with us. We will never forget your kindness.

Published in the Akron Beacon Journal on 5/1/2009.

Link to Guest Books:

http://www.legacy.com/gb2/default.aspx?bookid=1078163549030

http://www.legacy.com/gb2/default.aspx?bookid=1378811601536

Saturday, May 30, 2009

Donna's Tribute to Denise

Photo of the DB's: Donna, Diane, Denise, Dee and Debby

Tribute to Denise

It is not easy to say goodbye. The pain and sorrow we are feeling engulfs us. I’m sure we will feel it for many years to come. It is hard to find hope in the face of this inexplicable and overwhelming loss. We face a long battle involving a great deal more than simply the passage of time. Our enemy is not grief but fear. Fear that we have lost our sister, daughter, wife, mother, and dear friend. Fear that she will fade in our memories and hearts. Fear that we will lose the essence of Denise.

My sister Denise touched so many people in her short life. She was a phenomenal woman who was kind, loving, and compassionate. This last month has been incredibly hard for us all, especially Greg, Katie, and Maddie. We are so thankful to all of you who have been here and shown your love for Denise. I believe it was that love that gave her the strength to fight for a little more time to be with her loved ones. Denise did give it the good fight. Our Daddy would be proud. We are all so proud of her and grateful that our lives have been blessed by knowing her.

Denise was always full of life. My Mom said that she was, “a lighted sparkler forever”. She never knew really how beautiful she was. As I watched her lie in the hospital bed, I was struck once again by her amazing beauty. Denise always wanted to be loved and give love. Greg said in the last week or so she finally got it that we all love her so much.

We were the Darrow girls. We were 5 strong. Now we are 4. The “set is broken” my Father would say….but I can promise you he is loving every minute of being reunited with Denise.

Katie and Maddie are the best daughters and Denise couldn’t have loved them more. Thank you, Greg, and the Englehart, and Flanagan families for embracing her and caring for her.

Denise would remind us that life must go on and so must we. When you come across a stray animal, think of Denise. She loved her pets so much. We got that love from our Grandmother Evelyn. Heaven is a better place now that it has Denise. She can have unlimited pets and she will be telling some great stories….she definitely has many to tell.

We must celebrate Denise. We must tell stories about her. We need to keep her pictures close, smile about her, talk to her and hold her tight in our hearts. Even when doing so hurts so unbearably bad. Where this delivers us in the end we cannot know. With luck we will be stronger and better as individuals and a family. One thing is for sure, we will never be the same.

You can shed tears that she is gone,
Or you can smile because she has lived.
You can close your eyes and pray that she’ll come back,
Or you can open your eyes and see all she’s left.
Your heart can be empty because you can’t see her,
Or you can be full of the love you shared.
You can turn your back on tomorrow and live yesterday,
Or you can be happy for tomorrow because of yesterday.
You can remember her only that she is gone,
Or you can cherish her memory and let it live on.
You can cry and close your mind,
Be empty and turn your back.
Or you can do what she’d want:
SMILE, OPEN YOUR EYES, LOVE AND GO ON.

Dylan's Memories

I will always remember Dennis because of her hilarious sarcasm and her dead rat face. She always put other people first and wasn't afraid to speak her mind. I doubt I will ever forgive her for dressing me up in girl clothes when I was a toddler, although she chose wisely to do it when I was too small to fight back. I really liked talking to her because she showed apparent interest when I told her of the many hunting and fishing adventures I have been on. She told me all the time that she loved fishing and she was mad at Greg for not taking her.

During the last few years of her life, she would cuss the cold weather in Ohio over the phone, though I knew that she moved there because she loved Greg and the Girls.

Everyone will always miss her but we will be together once again in the afterlife.

-Dylan Dean

Denise

What a wonderful funny and kind person Denise was, I miss her everyday and pray that she is at peace and know that she is watching out for all of us, especially her girls Katie and Maddie. How lucky they are to have had Denise for their mother, she could not have loved them more.

- Kim