WILLIAM V. "BILL" DENTON

938 - 2014

William "Bill" Vandever Denton, 75, of Overland Park, passed away peacefully on May 4, 2014. Bill and his twin brother, Phil, were born on September 7, 1938 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, to Lawrence E. and Ruby I. Denton. The family moved to Kansas City in 1942. Bill attended Greenwood Grade School, Central Junior High School, and graduated from Southeast High School in 1957. Bill attended Central Missouri State Teachers College, and after attending college attended the Midwest Stenotype Institute. He was both an official and freelance court reporter in Topeka and the Kansas City area until he retired in 2008. Bill was president of the Kansas Shorthand Reporters' Association in 1974. He enlisted in the United States Air Force in 1957, both active and reserves, being honorably discharged in 1965. Our dad was an Eagle Scout, earned the God and Country Award, and a Warrior in the Tribe of Mic-O- Say. Dad always said some of the best years in young life were spent at the Boy Scout Camp in Osceola, Missouri. Bill became a Master Mason in 1962, and was a 50-plus member of Overland Park Lodge No. 436, Northeast Kansas Scottish Rite Valley and Abdallah Shriners since 1965. Bill was awarded the 33rd and last degree of Scottish Rite of Freemasonry in 2000. He served as Abdallah Shrine's Potentate in 1983. He was also awarded the DeMolay Legion of Honor, and served as Commander of the Legion of Honor at Abdallah Shriners, and a member of the Royal Order of Jesters, Court 54, and Teocoli No. 16A at Ararat Shriners in Kansas City, MO. Bill served as the Personal Representative of the Northeast Kansas Valley of the Scottish Rite to the Sovereign Grand Inspector General in the Orient of Kansas from 2006 to until September 4, 2013, when he retired. One of Bill's greatest accomplishments was restoring 100-year- old stain glass from the Scottish Rite Temple at Seventh & Ann in Kansas City, Kansas, into the Northeast Kansas Scottish Rite Valley Masonic Center, along with 100 year old solid oak doors. One of our dad's passions has been dancing and music, and in 2004 he took ballroom dance lessons and then started working as a Gentlemen Dance Host aboard luxury cruise lines. He was able to travel around the world several times, and considered it one of the most rewarding experiences in his life. Bill loved music and volunteered over the last many years at the Kansas City Symphony, KC Rep, Folly Theater, and the Quality Hill Playhouse, and was an active member of the Kansas City Theater Pipe Organ Association and Mu Phi Epsilon Music Society. Bill was also the charter Camaxtli of Trocha de Santa Fe in 1996, OKET No. 1, and president of the Central States CSQA in 2002. This organizations provides scholarships to former patients of Shriners Hospitals for Children. Bill is survived by his children, Eric Van Denton (Nadeige) of Philiadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Lesli Renee Lorenz (Mike), and granddaughter, Charlotte Grace Lorenz, and his twin brother, Philip A. Denton (Mary Ann), of Houston, Texas, and numerous nieces and nephews. Bill's brother, John, passed away on May 7, 2013. Our dad was a devoted Christian and was active in several churches and Bible studies. Visitation will be from 5:00-8:00 p.m. Friday, May 9, at Mt. Moriah & Freeman Funeral Home, 10507 Holmes Road, Kansas City, Missouri, with the Scottish Rite White Rose Ceremony and a Masonic Service at 7:00 p.m. Funeral services will be on Saturday, May 10, at 11:00 a.m., with the Royal Order of Jesters Rose Ceremony following the Christian service. Bill will be laid to rest at Mt. Moriah Cemetery. The family would request, if you care to do so, to please make a memorial donation in Bill's honor to Shriners Hospitals for Children in c/o Abdallah Shrine, 5300 Metcalf, Overland Park, Kansas 66206. M