This week one of our family's greatest friends passed away. My parents first met Mrs. Denton in 1975, when they moved into their first house on Lake Grove. Anne Denton quickly became a close friend of both of my parents, and was one of the first people outside of the hospital to know of my birth (I received the below note in a birthday card a few years back):
Mrs. Denton would frequently be by on holidays, take each of us boys to lunch on our birthdays (Bill Knapp's was always my choice), and the most exciting part for any young child- she would take us to Toys R Us and let us pick out our own birthday presents!
The stories about Mrs. Denton are too many to go into detail here. Some of them as told to us were:
- She snuck into the White House and met the president (I can't remember who).
- She went to college and majored in business, because "women weren't supposed to major in business".
- She made a "bucket list" over 20 years ago, and was thrilled to show us the video tape of her sky diving in her eighties.
DENTON - Anne S. Denton's faith and trust in God was nurtured throughout her life and celebrated in her passing to eternal life on November 10, 2009. She was born in Peoria, IL on October 6, 1919, to Wallace and Garnet Snyder, and was raised there by her paternal grandparents, graduating from high school and college. Anne had many interesting jobs, including with Bell Telephone, Girl Scouts of America in New York City, and the U.S. Department of defense in Washington, D.C. She married the love of her life, Murray Denton on July 3, 1942, and following his WWII service they lived throughout the Midwest, eventually settling in East Grand Rapids. They had three children, Melissa and Charlie who survive her and a daughter, Sharon who died shortly after birth. Anne was an active volunteer serving at Mary Free Bed and Blodgett Hospitals, with the PTA, and at her church. Anne also loved the socializing that went with playing bridge, canasta, golf and tennis. Following the October 18, 1977 death of her beloved Murray, Anne became the parish visitor for Eastminster Presbyterian Church on a trial basis that last 13 years. One of the great challenges and joys in her life was being part of starting the Christ Community Church with Rev. John Tobian and others. She continued as pastoral assistant with Christ Community until her retirement at age 86, but Anne never really gave up working to bring members to the church. Anne lived at Porter Hills for many years, surrounded by friends and with great support from the wonderful staff and by Hospice of Michigan. She had just celebrated her 90th birthday with her children, Melissa, Charlie and daughter-in-law, Becky. Anne will also be remembered and missed by her grandchildren, Anna, John, Alec and Peter of whom she was so proud. One of her greater gifts to her family was introducing them to summers at Chautauqua Institution in New York. A celebration of Anne Denton's life will be held at Christ Community Church on Forest Hills Ave., on Friday, November 13, with visitation at 1:00 p.m. and the service at 2:00 p.m. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to Christ Community Church or Porter Hills Benevolent Fund in her memory. The family is being served by Metcalf & Jonkhoff Funeral Service
