Dennis Earl Thomas Sr. passed away on April 13th, 2026, at the Ambassador Health Center in Nebraska City. He was 87 years old. He was the 3rd child born to Edward and Thelma Annis (Overman) Thomas in Casper WY on December 28, 1938. He was welcomed home by Wanda June and Edward Warren and later became an older brother to Jessee Allen who gave him the nickname “Babe”. Dennis graduated from Crookston High School and enlisted in the U.S. Navy along with his brother Edward in 1955. He proudly served from 1955-1959 and from 1962-1978, completing 2 tours in Vietnam where he was a Machinist Mate, and later served as a Navy recruiter. Dennis married Darlene Hild and together they had 3 sons, Dennis Jr. “Skip” (1963), Donald (1969) and David (1971).

After their divorce, he met and married Pattye Fontaine in 1980. With that marriage came 3 stepchildren, Jerrie, David and Traci who he treated as his own. After Navy retirement and subsequent marriage, he went to college in Sidney, NE where he designed and built custom cabinets for their next home in Wood Lake NE. He also worked as a mechanic and enjoyed restoring old cars. In the following years, he would buy and remodel many homes. He never really retired but was always working various jobs and continually remodeling something. He was known for his humor, kindness and generosity. His granddaughters’ favorite memory was riding in the dump truck to get hot chocolate. He always gave them a warning before going into the store “behave or I’ll thump you on the melon.” The girls stated that they never misbehaved!

His last residence was in Dunbar NE with his wife Pattye who passed away in 2021. Thanks to Ancestry.com, soon after his wife of 41 years passed, he discovered that he had a daughter Lori born in 1962 and she only lived 3 hours away. They made up for lost time by spending as much time as possible together and creating a bond with additional family members that they both treasured.

Survivors include his brother Ed (Carol) of Omaha NE, sons Skip (Sandy) of Lincoln NE, Donald of Omaha NE and David (Angie) of Omaha NE. A daughter, Lori (Steve) Phillips of Ida Grove IA, stepchildren Jerrie (Tim) Solomon of Longmont CO, David (Lea) Nachtman of Westport KY and Traci (Bob) of Akron CO. In addition, his children and stepchildren gave him 20 grandchildren and 38 great grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his parents, sister Wanda, brother Jessee and wife Pattye.

Per Dennis’s wishes, no services will be held.

Memorials are suggested to the family for later designation.

Arrangements By: Fusselman Allen Harvey Funeral Home, Syracuse

Condolences to www.fusselmanallenharvey.com