Obituary of Dennis Ward Morford

On Tuesday September 26, 2023, Dennis Ward Morford, 77 passed away suddenly in Tucson, Arizona. Dennis was born in Rock Island, Illinois to Ward and Marjorie Morford on September 4, 1946. He grew up in Spokane, Washington. Dennis served in the Army reserves during the late 1960’s. In 1974, he graduated from Montana State University with a degree in Civil Engineering. Upon graduation, Dennis accepted a job with the State of Alaska and worked for the state as a Civil Engineer for 25 years.

 

Dennis met his wife, Kathleen while living in Alaska and married on June 28, 1985. They, along with their blended family of 4 daughters enjoyed 43 years together. Dennis loved his family and cherished his relationship with them. He especially adored his grandchildren and enjoyed spending time with them. As well as being a mentor to many nieces and nephews.

 

In 2000, Dennis and Kathleen relocated to Reno, Nevada where he joined a private engineering firm. His time in the private sector took them back to his hometown of Spokane where he retired in 2010. Dennis and Kathleen enjoyed traveling, wine tasting tours, fine dining, concerts and spending time with family.

 

Dennis and Kathleen moved to Tucson, Arizona in May of 2020. They were enjoying retirement life where the sun shines 300+ days a year. Post pandemic Dennis and Kathleen continued traveling. Their most recent travel adventure was a Central American cruise where Dennis was thrilled to witness an engineering marvel, the Panama Canal.

 

Dennis was known for his love of cars, with a particular fondness for Corvettes and Chevrolet Chevelles. He repaired them, collected them and, of course, loved driving them on rallies, road trips and around town. He enjoyed participating in car clubs and was president of the Late Great Chevy Club in Spokane. While living in Alaska, Dennis also became an avid mountaineer. He belonged to the Mountaineering Club of Alaska for many years. His love for hiking extended to other parts of the American West and one of his favorite places to explore via foot was the Grand Canyon. The real pleasure for him was in the friendships he made along the way.

 

Dennis is survived by his loving wife Kathleen, daughters Kari (Eric), Melissa (Kieran), Kathleen’s daughters Karyn (Andrew) and Sharon, grandchildren John, Josephine and Henry and siblings Pam (Bill), Kathy (Rick), Jeff (Terri) and Mike (Patsy) and many other family members and friends.

 

A Celebration of Life will be held at 1pm on Friday October 27, 2023, at the Desert Sunset Funeral Home, 3081 Orange Grove Road, Tucson, AZ. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating in Dennis’ name to your local American Heart Association.

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