Dennis Joseph Blatchford

1949 - 2022

Construction industry veteran, storyteller and non-profit volunteer Dennis Blatchford passed away on September 26, 2022, in San Jose, California at the age of 73 after battling pancreatic cancer. He leaves behind a devoted wife of 52 years, Michele Suzanne (Jamison) Blatchford, a son John Blatchford and his wife Jennifer Rose, and a daughter Autumn Casadonte, her husband Alex Casadonte and granddaughter Ava Casadonte. He is survived by two sisters and three brothers who reside in the Midwest—Carol (Roger) Magnussen, Sally (Arv) Kaulins, Greg (Lesa) Blatchford, Chad (Margaret) Blatchford and Joel (Lisa) Blatchford—along with numerous nieces and nephews. After growing up in the small farming community of Laurel, Nebraska and earning a construction management degree from the University of Nebraska, Dennis married Michele and moved West. For 43 years, Dennis held construction manager and estimator roles at companies like The Koll Company, Hathaway Dinwiddie, San Jose Construction, Webcor and Devcon where he built projects that changed the landscape of Silicon Valley. Dennis loved music (especially anything performed by his son, Lionel Richie or The Weeknd), ice cream, Peet's coffee, volunteering with a local food pantry and befriending strangers. He and Michele went to every dance recital, music performance, game and school event for his kids and granddaughter (a.k.a. "sweet pea"). He was a member of Alum Rock United Methodist Church for a decade, enjoyed Friday Night Dinners with friends, volunteered for "get out the vote" campaigns, wrote letters to the editor, played golf and was often found napping in the sun with a newspaper on his chest. Services for Dennis will be held at Oak Hill Funeral Home in San Jose on October 23 at 10:00 a.m. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests those interested to donate to non-profit organizations like the St. John Vianney Church food pantry, Second Harvest Food Bank, Rebuilding Together, Family Giving Tree and Mission Hospice and Home Care