LELAND — Dennis M. Collene,76, died on December 5, 2024 at New Hanover Regional Medical Center following a protracted battle with Prostate Cancer.
He is survived by his wife of 54 years, Rosemary (Carman) Collene; his daughter Kimberly Taylor, her husband Carter and their sons Zane and Quade; his daughter Kristy Collene, her daughters Victoria and Valeska, and sons Armando, Alejandro and Artreus; his twin sister Dianne and her husband John; his younger sister Suellen and her husband Jon; his younger brother James and his wife Denise; numerous other nieces, nephews, cousins and many close friends.
Dennis was born in Memphis, TN and raised in Oak Harbor, WA, the son of Robert and Eleanor (Cook) Collene, he has been a resident of Leland, NC since 2012. In his early years, Dennis had several paper routes, delivering the Seattle Post Intelligencer early every morning before school.
Two years after graduating from Oak Harbor High School in 1966, he enlisted in the US Army where he served until 1972. He then attended the US Military Academy at West Point and finished his degree under the GI Bill at the Pennsylvania State University, graduating in 1974 with a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science. He met his wife in 1968 at a dance hosted by the nursing school she was attending, and they were married in 1970 in Saint James, NY.
He joined the US Air Force in 1974 where he became an Instructor Radar Navigator in both the KC-135 and the FB-111A aircraft. He finished his distinguished US Air Force career as an Acquisition Program Manager for the AWACS aircraft at Hanscom AFB, MA where he retired as a Major in 1992.
After his retirement, Dennis had the opportunity to continue to work for the Air Force as a contracted employee for several different companies. He took pride in his resource management, acquisition, information technology, space and special project positions, but he truly relished the friends he made over the years. He completely retired in 2012 and he and Rosemary moved to Leland, NC.
Dennis always had a passion for adventure and at various stages of his life he enjoyed riding a motorcycle, sport parachuting, traveling, snow and water skiing, scuba diving, tennis, pickleball, fly fishing, driving his sport cars, flying and golf. When he lived in Eliot, ME he was actively involved in the Yellowbird Flying Club as a Private Pilot and Maintenance Officer. For years, he enjoyed taking up young adults in the airplane, introducing them to the joys of flying, and presenting them with a certificate of remembrance.
When he moved to Leland, Dennis gave up flying and took up golf. He became an avid golfer and was a longtime member of the Magnolia Greens Double Eagle Club as well as the local Bogeymen, Senior Tour and Hackers golf groups. He also started the highly successful Magnolia Greens Couples Golf Outing. His crowning glories as a golfer though, were two holes-in-one, one on August 22, 2016, and another on March 28, 2019 plus an adventure of a lifetime golfing all 50 states with his wife Rosemary, finishing in Wyoming in August 2023.
He also served for several years as the President of the Riverview Homeowner’s Association in Eliot, ME and as the Chairman of the Grounds Committee of the Magnolia Greens Homeowner’s Association in Leland, NC. He and Rosemary attended St. Mark Catholic Church in Wilmington, NC.
A Funeral Mass will be held Thursday, January 9th, 2025 at 11:00am at St. Mark Catholic Church in Wilmington, NC followed by a private inurnment with military honors. Prior to the service at the church, the family will receive friends from 10:00am until the service hour. A reception will follow.
In lieu of flowers, a memorial contribution may be made in Dennis’ memory to Lower Cape Fear LifeCare at lifecare.org.
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