Dennis Wayne Starkweather Sr.

Dennis Wayne Starkweather Sr. passed away in his home Sunday evening, surrounded by friends and family, on his favorite "holiday" of the year. Being a life-long Pittsburgh Steelers fan, he threw in his "terrible towel" on Feb. 2nd, 2014 during this year's Super Bowl, which was held in his home state of New York.

Dennis was born in Rochester, on March 10, 1950 to Mr. Melvin Benjamin Starkweather (deceased) and Florence Onolee (Lyday) Whitmer, who currently lives in Toledo, Oregon with Dennis's youngest sister Cathy, and her husband Jeff Wetten. As Dennis was growing up with his brothers Morris, Melvin Jr., Roy, Ron (Lanny) and Larry (all deceased), and other sister Elrie, the family was often on the move. He attended at least a dozen schools in New York's rural areas by the time he finished the 9th grade. As a teenager he went to work tending and milking cattle on a family farm in Warsaw, which is where he met his wife, Melody Ann (Burrs). The two were married on June 6th, 1971 and raised 5 children together, up until her death in 2011.

While his children Dennis Jr., Benjamin, Jeremiah, Jason and Florence (Alissa) were all quite young, the family never let the grass grow long under their feet; living a nomadic life-style and moving back and forth across the U.S. between NY and Oregon many times. Often, all of them working in agricultural and seasonal jobs to make ends meet until the next harvest. In 1989 Dennis finally moved his family to Washington to work on "Farm in a Day", which was located in Moses Lake, and they made the area their permanent home. He also leaves behind his brother-in-law Danny Burrs and his family, 2 daughters-in-law, 10 grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.

Dennis's other jobs over the years included; dairy worker, mechanic, and truck/combine driver. Since his last job at Roylance Farm some 20 years ago, he had become a self-employed organic Gardener, incorporating all of his favorite hobbies; such as cooking, canning, and building planters and greenhouses, to try and make a living doing the things he loved best, and always keeping his family close over the sharing of a healthful, home-cooked meal. He was a man who believed in common-sense and proficiency and often tinkered around with his own innovations to make life run smoother. For a while he even enjoyed off-roading in the 1969 GMC truck he built himself, and camping in the local sand dunes. He will be greatly missed as the Head of the Starkweather Clan.

Starkweather Gardens is still located on Beacon Rd. in Moses Lake, and is where his family will be hosting a party in Celebration of his Life this coming Saturday, the 8th of February. Friends are invited to stop by any time throughout the day with a potluck BBQ starting at 4pm.

Please sign the online guestbook or leave a note for family at www.kayserschapel.com. Arrangements are in care of Kayser's Chapel & Crematory, Moses Lake, Washington.