John Ryan Dennison

West Point, 2004

Be Thou At Peace

Posted by Nick Suhr '02 on November 30, 2006:

Johnny-- Man, where do I start? This space can't adequately begin to cover all the feelings, although Rich Chudzik did an amazing job. I always was proud of you guys at my table. You, Rustin, Rich, Bryan Crossman, Cole Pineiro, Jeremy Benvenuti, Josh Haynes, Tom Kavanaugh and Mark Kawakami (before they stole him away) made life great that year. No matter what was going on, knowing that we would all be getting together for another meal for breakfast and lunch, we'd have laughs, jokes and plenty of funny stories from any one of your latest B weekend escapades, or the infamous milk skit that earned the plebes their way off duties for the rest of the year (Erin Salcido-approved before we scared her away). I remember all the great days, stopping by your rooms to BS, even getting you to steal away out of schoool to go help me pick up my car down in Staten Island. You guys were the laughs and good times that we all fondly remember about school, because frankly that keeps us going through those gray days. Knowing that one of you isn't around any more out there really sucks because it feels like life is a little shorter, a little less bright, because even though we made fun of you, Johnny, you were the guy that kept that group laughing, kept us strong and kept us together. Johnny, I'm going to miss you, bro. I remember being damned proud of you being on the skydiving team and being in awe of the great man and leader that you were. And even if I didn't get to see you guys finish school, I was always proud of who you guys were and who you became. You were the guy who made us all better people to be around and inspired us to be more. Haley, though I never got a chance to meet you, I want to extend my deepest condolences and heartfelt sorrow. Knowing who John was in life, I know what kind of husband he was. He will truly be missed by all those who knew him and cared for him. He was truly one of a kind. Johnny, somewhere you're getting the table ready for one more meal. Some day we'll all be there again to share laughs, stories and good times. In the mean time, we'll do our best to make sure that we never forget the man you were. Nick Suhr '02

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