Dennis Roy Burns

One by one the middle-aged men walked through the gate, many with gray hair and all with smiles on their faces. By early afternoon, the backyard of Dennis Burns' home in Livermore, CA was overflowing with former high school wrestlers eager to reminisce about long ago competitions, achievements and valuable life lessons learned.

In all, nearly 100 former athletes and students gathered last summer to reconnect with one another and with Coach Burns. As the stories swirled and the laughter echoed across the yard, it was obvious to everyone what a tremendous positive impact Dennis Burns had on so many people throughout his life.

Dennis taught and coached high school wrestling for 13 seasons beginning in 1971, leading teams to multiple championships while helping develop them into disciplined and educated young men and women. In addition to his coaching skills, Dennis was an amazing listener. A conversation with him made you feel like you were the only one in the world, and to him, that is what mattered at that moment. It was not uncommon to hear someone say, "I just had the best conversation with Dennis."

Dennis Roy Burns passed away in Livermore on April 3 at the age of 78 due to end stage heart failure. This followed many years of progressive heart disease resulting in an enlarged heart - no surprise to those who knew him and his big heart! After five weeks of hospice care, Dennis died peacefully in his sleep on his terms - at his home, surrounded by his wife and children. He is survived by his wife of 34 years, Karen Burns; his children Kyle Burns, Brett Burns and Kelly Price, and their spouses Kelly S. Burns, Kelly R. Burns and Matt Price; and five grandchildren Kaila Leilani, Brendan James, Karly Sue, Zoey Jade and Klayton Matthew.

Dennis's legacy lives on not only in his children and grandchildren, but in the lives of so many that he touched. Many of those former wrestlers said that he literally changed their lives as recipients of his devotion and life-altering coaching skills. He had a particular ability to inspire young people, and treated every student fairly, holding them accountable and honoring their accomplishments, as well.

Dennis retired just before turning 60, allowing him to spend quality time with his family and his friends over the past two decades. His uncanny ability to stay in touch with so many on a regular basis was remarkable.

Hailing from his Kentucky roots, Dennis had a saying for just about every occasion...such as an analogy for when it was pouring down rain or the idioms "hitting the dusty trail" and "off like a thundering herd of turtles". A shower was a rain locker, and a great meal included a pot of beans. These roots also contributed to his love of folk music and bluegrass. The notes touched his soul, and the lyrics spoke to him about the realities of life and living it. Songs like Baby the Rain Must Fall, and artists such as Joan Baez and Peter Paul & Mary were particular favorites.

Dennis was also a man of honor, one who had tremendous respect for the military and its legacy within his family. While he himself was unable to serve in active duty, Dennis was very proud of his family's military history. His mom Della was in the Women's Army Corps in World War II, and his dad Roy served in the U.S. Navy during WWII, the Korean War, and beyond through retirement. Many generations before them served as well, leading back all the way to the Revolutionary War and the founding of the country.

Dennis' duty and mission in life were focused on athletics and academia. He was a consummate educator and coach. It was truly his way of life. With his dad out at sea during much of his youth, Dennis looked to his coaches to inspire and lead him. It was during those early formative years that he first realized that he too wanted to be a coach one day.

While Dennis found joy in many sports, his true passion was wrestling. He competed as an award-winning wrestler in high school and college, before going on to coach at the high school level. In the summer of 2024, he fulfilled a bucket list item by going to the Olympics in Paris and watching the wrestling finals.

Dennis Roy Burns was born on July 9, 1947, at Patuxent River, Maryland to Roy Talmadge "RT" and Della Casey Burns. A couple of years later, his sister Gail was born. Being the son of a Navy man, Dennis moved around quite a bit during his growing up years. In the early 1950s, his dad was stationed at Pearl Harbor in Oahu, which quickly became one of his favorite places. By middle school, the family had settled in the San Francisco Bay Area, first in Cupertino then later in Fremont.

Dennis attended Washington High School where he was a Varsity wrestler and earned the title of League Champion at 137 lbs. during his senior year. He graduated in 1965 and went on to Chabot Community College where he continued to wrestle and win awards. He earned his bachelor's degree in physical education in 1970 from Cal State Hayward, after taking a semester off to live and ski at Squaw Valley near Lake Tahoe. In 1971, he earned his teaching credential with a specialization in secondary education. He rewarded himself with a shiny new Porsche!

Soon after, Dennis entered a lengthy season as an educator, starting his career in Fremont as a Physical Education teacher at Irvington High School but soon transferring to American High School when it first opened in the fall of 1972. While at American, Dennis also taught rock climbing at Ohlone Community College and was an avid climber himself. He loved Yosemite National Park and the granite mountains near Donner Lake. He naturally launched his coaching career at this time which included a multitude of sports over the years. The quintessential sport was of course wrestling which he did formally for 13 years, resulting in more league championships won than not. Later when his sons were in high school, he once again coached their wrestling team as assistant to head coach, who coincidentally was the son of his coach at Chabot College many years prior.

Dennis earned the degree of Master of Education, School Management in 1985 and went on to be an exceptional school administrator. He served at San Jose High, Broadway High, Milpitas High, Tennyson High, Irvington High and wrapped up his career at Milpitas Community Day School. He had the ability to relate to a variety of students, motivating them toward individual and team goals. Dennis was especially gifted with an ability to mentor and support troubled or "at risk" students, a role in which he thrived while serving as assistant principal for discipline, continuation principal, and finally community day principal. He showed students and teachers alike that he cared and believed in them, positively impacting more and more lives each passing year.

Earlier in his career, Dennis heeded his father's advice that "if you ever get a chance, buy land. It's the only thing they are not making more of!" Dennis sold his beloved Porsche in the mid-1970s to make a downpayment on his first house. Dennis married Sherre Peters in 1976 and in their early years of marriage they enjoyed both snow skiing and water skiing; Dennis was excellent at both.

In 1980, Dennis and dad RT started a landscape business in Fremont called Tri City Rock. Dennis worked on weekends and school holidays as he continued to teach. They started with one used truck and grew it into a multimillion-dollar enterprise, hiring many friends and fellow teachers during school breaks. In 1981, son Kyle Matthew was born and in 1983 his son Brett Michael came along.

As the demands of teaching, running a business, and being a father grew, they sold Tri City Rock. Dennis and Sherre decided to invest their time and money into something more family-friendly and with the help of his dad and brother-in-law, they built a cabin in Sonora. In the late 1980s Dennis' marriage to Sherre ended, and RT stepped in and took care of the boys when Dennis needed him. In RT's final years, Dennis had the privilege of taking care of his father in his typical loving and caring nature.

In 1991, Dennis married Karen and together they had a daughter, Kelly Nicole, in 1996. This season of Dennis' life was a storybook romance, filled with a rare deep and abiding love. Dennis and Karen loved their everyday life and loved their adventures too. They had many years of enjoying Oakland Athletics baseball games as season ticket holders.

Dennis also acquired another Porsche, and together he and Karen enjoyed many long drives together. They traveled extensively, savoring many places in this country as well as many countries in Europe, including celebrating Dennis' heritage in Ireland and Scotland. Dennis loved the quiet evenings too, making a nice dinner for Karen and watching their "shows" before turning in.

Dennis deeply loved the season of raising his three children and was extremely proud of his kids. He was also the kind of dad that was involved - from school projects and field trips to bike rides and playing catch. He naturally found a way to tap into his coaching skills and spent more than a decade as Little League baseball coach for Kyle and Brett. As an "older" dad to Kelly, he was the "stay at home parent" always there to help with homework, shuttle her to dance, swim or theatre, and watch A's games on TV. The family enjoyed many weekends at the cabin and New Melones Lake as well as backyard barbeques with extended family and friends - grilling was Dennis' specialty!

In his retirement season, Dennis took great care to honor his parents' military legacy, including restoring a 1942 GPW Jeep that served with the Band of Brothers in World War II and a 1941 Dodge Army Staff Car reminiscent of those seen at Pearl Harbor in its day. On special occasions such as Memorial Day, Independence Day and Veterans Day, Dennis joined forces with the American Legion to carry veterans in his historic vehicles in community parades. He also served as a docent in Alameda on the USS Hornet CV-12, the successor to the CV-8, on which his dad served during his military career.

After the kids left the nest, Dennis and Karen relocated to Livermore where Dennis found a season of quiet contentment. New and old friends alike met regularly for coffee dates to talk and "solve the issues of the world". He grew particularly attached to his yellow labrador Bailey. There was more watching of westerns like Cheyenne and Tales of Wells Fargo. There was the simple joy of growing tomatoes and herbs and cooking a nice meal. It was during this time Dennis was thrilled to become "Papa" and adored his five grandchildren.

It is difficult to summarize the life of such an extraordinary man. Dennis of course would know exactly what to say - to inspire, to bring levity, to show love. Perhaps some parting words of wisdom are appropriate from a man who always gave the best advice...Keep the greasy side down!

Dennis will have a private celebration of life in May. If you would like to honor his legacy, donations in his honor may be made to the USS Hornet Museum.