W. Landon Dennison Jr.

W. Landon Dennison Jr. died at his home in Hinesburg, Vt., on Friday, October 10, 2025. He was 89 years old.
Known to all as Lanny, he was born in Princeton, N.J., on January 22, 1936. He attended Deerfield Academy, graduated from Princeton University in 1958 and was a proud Princeton Tiger ever after.
In 1957, while working at the Lake Placid Club, Lanny Dennison met the love of his life, a beautiful Canadian woman named Alison Elizabeth Holland. They married on July 4, 1960.
After graduating from Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, Lanny served as the medical officer for extended-length patrols aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, SSBN-602, out of Groton, Conn.
His Vermont connections started early in life and ran deep. He spent summers as a camper and counselor at Keewaydin Camp on Lake Dunmore, where his parents worked each summer. This ignited his lifelong love of the outdoors, leading to summer jobs as a ranger in Yosemite National Park and the White Mountains of New Hampshire. An avid fly fisherman and hunter, Lanny loved his annual trips to deer camp and teaching his children and grandchildren to hunt.
In 1970, after completing his residency at Mary Hitchcock Hospital in Dartmouth while living in Norwich, Vt., Lanny and his young family moved into a ramshackle farmhouse on Town Road #8 in Hinesburg. Over the next 55 years they restored the house to its original 1789 condition (with the much-appreciated addition of central heat).
The young doctor opened his dermatology practice, now Four Seasons Dermatology, traveling to the Northeast Kingdom, Middlebury and St. Albans. He never turned away a patient, taking payment in eggs, crocheted afghans and even feed for his daughter's horse. Lanny was a sole practitioner his entire career, which he said allowed him to spend more time with his patients than a modern group practice would allow. It wasn't unusual for him to stop by a patient's home after church on Sunday.
A true Renaissance man, Lanny tied his own flies and took up horology in his later years to keep the family antique clocks working. He was a voracious reader, starting and ending his days with a book on diverse subjects, with his most recent read about an 18th-century Scottish philosopher.
Lanny and Alison spent their summers on their sailboat, exploring the bays and islands of Lake Champlain. They also adventured with friends in Europe, Greece, Panama and Nova Scotia, among other places.
Lanny leaves behind his wife of 65 years, Alison Holland Dennison; four children and their spouses, Meg Dennison and Tim Peek of Santa Cruz, Calif., Bill and Deb Dennison of South Burlington, Vt., Andrew and Alison Dennison of Hinesburg, Vt., and Michael and Tiffany Dennison of Lincoln, Vt.; nine grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; and brother, Tom and Marianne Dennison of Farmville, Va., He is predeceased by his parents, W. Landon and Louise Dennison Sr.
A celebration of Lanny's life will be held on Sunday, October 26, 2025, 2 p.m., at Trinity Episcopal Church in Shelburne, Vt., with a reception to follow.
In lieu of flowers, contributions in Lanny's name may be made to Trinity Episcopal Church, 5171 Shelburne Rd., Shelburne, VT 05482, or Hinesburg Community Resource Center, PO Box 444, Hinesburg, VT 05461. To plant a beautiful memorial tree in memory of W., please visit our Tree Store.