Dennis Daniel Josephs

JOSEPHS, Dennis Daniel "Denny" (age 79) of Elko New Market, MN
Born: February 28, 1946, Saint Paul, MN, died peacefully, while at the Trinity Care Center, Farmington, MN on May 28th, 2025. Preceded in death by his parents, William Kalem & Freda Ann (Isaac) Josephs; sister, Patricia Ann (Josephs) Anderson, brothers: William Jr., Michael, Thomas, James, John, and Raymond.
Survived by his son Jake (wife Maureen) Josephs and grandchildren Sawyer and Violet; sisters: Mary Ann (Spreeman), Kathy (Thuringer), Anna (Yager) Josephs, Joyce Josephs, and brother Larry (Kathy) Josephs of West Saint Paul. Denny comes from a family of 12 children and has many nephews and nieces, great nephews & nieces, many cousins, and many friends.
Denny graduated from Sibley Senior High School of West Saint Paul in 1964. Denny was drafted into the United States Army and served in Vietnam for a 12-month tour of duty during 1966 to 1967. He was an avid fisherman and enjoyed fishing with his brothers, cousins, friends, and son. Denny loved cooking and sharing a meal with as many people as he could fit into his home. He was an extremely generous, caring, and genuine man and will be deeply missed by many people he knew well and even those he knew briefly.
Visitation and Funeral
Date: June 10th, 2025
Time: 9am visitation; 10am service; 11am mercy meal; 1:30pm burial (Fort Snelling National Cemetery)
Location:
Holy Family Maronite Catholic Church
1960 Lexington Ave S.
Mendota Heights, MN 55118
Denny graduated from Sibley Senior High School of West Saint Paul in 1964. Denny was drafted into the United States Army and served in Vietnam for a 12-month tour of duty from 1966 to 1967. (March 31, 1966, to April 1, 1967) His job was operating semi-trucks that transported military personnel and cargo through combat zones.
It was there in the Vietnam jungles, that our soldiers were exposed to agent orange. Agent orange was a herbicide that used by the U.S. Military primarily for the defoliation of the jungle during the Vietnam War. Denny was among those that were exposed to the agent orange and was later diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease. He was given a disabled veteran status and was under the care of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs.
Before his diagnosis, Denny was an avid fisherman, a former member of the Abu-Garcia Pro Fishing Team and when he was not fishing with his son Jake, he would be taking family and friends out for a day of fishing. Denny's famous M/O was sending you home with fishing equipment, and freshly filleted fish for his friends and family to enjoy that was if he didn't just make them stay for a fish dinner at his house.
Anyone that knows Denny knows that he is always quick to give away possessions. He was very much like his mother in that way. You didn't dare compliment a picture on his wall, fishing gear in his boat, or even an air fryer on his counter. If you did, you would find yourself walking out of his house at the end of your visit with that item in your arms.
Once while visiting Denny, my wife Kathy happened to comment on how nice his Air Fryer was (he had made chicken wings for the Vikings football game that day) and Denny said: "Unplug it Larry and take it with you!" "I'll get another one!" Sorry, brother! Not today!
Denny was in the auto sales and management business for 40 plus years, having co-owned his own dealership as well. He had such a strong following of family & friends, that he always enjoyed having people come to him for their best deals. He would always tell them to "shop hard" and then come and see him and he would beat any other offer. Plus, he would tack on other items like mudflaps, car washes, and oil changes. Most of his customers knew that Denny would treat them like gold, and that is why they kept coming back to see him time and time again.