Year 16

 

Sixteen years today.

This morning I opened one of the notebooks we kept as a family, pages filled with small drawings, stray thoughts, things we noticed and didn’t want to lose. I found this page and felt that familiar shift: the sense that Dennis is still in conversation

Time has moved but the way we learned to see together remains. I still catch moments through his eye,  humor where I might have missed it, curiosity in the ordinary, a quiet insistence on paying attention

Some conversations never end. 

They simply change form.

Year 14

 

The Dennis Kuronen Scholarship

continues to award a graphic design student

a substantial monetary award each year

thanks to all of you 

who so generously donated

to this Endowed Scholarship!

♡♡♡

Year 13

It's another Valentine's Day 

without you. 

It has been 13 years since you left, but the pain of losing you still feels fresh and raw. Your loss has left a gaping hole in my heart that can never be filled. Although you are no longer physically here, your love and spirit live on in our children. They have grown into amazing adults and have so many of your qualities. Your smile, your kindness, and your strength can been seen in them every day. Your legacy lives on in the love you left in our hearts. 

Year Eleven

 

Dennis had the soul of an artist

the character of a gentleman &

the wisdom of a statesman.

His discipline, passion & 

love of family made him 

my hero. 

above: © Dennis Kuronen, 1983, acrylic on canvas, 48" x 48"

A Decade Later

It is hard to believe that 10 years ago a few hundred people gathered on Valentine's Day at Philadelphia University to celebrate the life that Dennis shared with us all.

I am forever grateful to Dr Stephen Spinelli, the president of PhilaU at the time, and to all the friends and colleagues for their support and generosity in hosting that celebration of Dennis's life. It still resonates deeply a decade later.

While it has been decade of Valentine's Days without Dennis, I still come across cards like this one that Dennis made, hid, and forgot about until today when I found it in the back of a drawer.

Happy Birthday Reminders

I still get emails like this addressed to Dennis, 

especially around his birthday:

I do still honor his birth and presence every year.

Year Nine

10:40pm
nine years ago

a moment
I will never forget