Obituary of Dennis John McDougal

Dennis John McDougal, was born on 11/29/59 to Connie and the late George McDougal. He was third in line of eight siblings. He met the love of his life, Susan, at the Oak Beach Inn on a summer afternoon. They have three children, Joseph, Sara and Andrew. Sara married Tommy Vitale on October 14th and a beautiful home reception followed the wedding. Dennis is survived by his siblings, Susan West, Patty D'Angelo (Dave), Laura Glenz (Larry), Michael (Jackie), Robert (Donna), Terry Murray (Kevin) and Chris (Sarah). He was loved by his wife's family, Jean Louise and Dan Quaranto, and their children, Olivia and Daniel and Susan's brother, Tommy Amato. Dennis was a favorite uncle to Jennifer Tindall (Joe), Gregory West, Emily and Lauren D'Angelo, Kathryn, Allison and Brendan McDougal, Victoria and James McDougal, Thomas, Elizabeth, Caroline and Daniel Murray, Caden, Liam and Molly McDougal. Dennis was a great uncle to Jennifer's boys, Tyler and Collin. To know Dennis is to laugh. He had a wicked sense of humor and you never wanted to be at the brunt of his joke. Dennis was known for being a cut up at St. Raymond's elementary school, where he was often punished by the nuns and frequently hit on the knuckles with a ruler! He loved to entertain people. In the fifth grade, he was the only boy to show up at a female classmate's birthday party and the girls were all delighted by his surprise appearance. His mother would often chase Dennis around the kitchen with a broom after he "misbehaved" but she never could catch him, which made the rest of the family laugh at the silly sight. Dennis was a social being and made friends easily. In high school he had a great group of friends and was known as Denny Legend or Denny Mac. His friends frequently came over to the family home at 680 Scranton Ave, and hung out in "the swamp", Dennis' name for his bedroom on the third floor. Sometimes a fragrant scent would fill the lower level, but everyone always came downstairs in a very good mood. He enjoyed music and comedy shows. He watched Monty Python before it was popular in Britain. He owned George Carlin albums and would regale us with his impressions of his favorite comic. He enjoyed concerts of varied groups from Johnny Cash, Jethro Tull, the Moody Blues to the Ramones and the Grateful Dead. However in recent years, we often had to endure listening to Dennis' eclectic music selection on an old stereo that crackled with static. When Dennis met Susan he was living in Long Beach and was quite the classic car enthusiast. On their wedding day he drove up in his shiny red Pontiac Lemans with GTO classic convertible. They stayed in Long Beach for a while and eventually settled in Oceanside. There they raised their 3 beautiful children. He loved his family and friends and always wanted to entertain and host a party. He welcomed everyone in the summer and we cooled off in their inground pool. This often meant that the guests were left to tend the grill as Dennis drank beer and entertained friends and family in his yard. Susan and Dennis were quite the host and hostess. They even took to performing for the masses. A favorite memory was when they dressed as the Captain and Tennille and sang "Love Will Keep Us Together" and danced for all of us. Good times were guaranteed on Stevens Street! As a sports enthusiast, (he played high school football), Dennis could always be found in the bleachers for his sons' football and lacrosse games. Dennis made a point of being sure his sons had the best sports equipment and were set up for the season. He was always the proud daddy in the audience of Sara's dance recitals. Sara and he would spend many a Saturday stopping by estate sales and looking for special treasures to share with a lucky family member. Frequently he purchased a new teapot to add to his niece Victoria's teapot collection (that he started for her!) She now has 50. Only Dennis! More recently, he took to making videos of himself and imitated famous personalities, actors and his favorite, Checky Beckford, the NBC news reporter. He videoed Petey the Penguin at Lister Park as reporter Ti-Hua Chang. He took it upon himself to start a tradition of decorating a Christmas tree on an abandoned lot on Merton Avenue in Lynbrook and held tree lighting ceremonies each year. It was classic Dennis! There have been several common themes used to describe Dennis John McDougal: unique, kind hearted, thoughtful, loving, "the funniest person I know", one of a kind, complex, hell raiser, passionate. Dennis brought levity to the heaviest of situations through his intelligence, humor and understanding. He fought the good fight. He battled his cancer valiantly and much like his father, he never complained. He even brought his sense of humor to discussions about his failing health. His positivity was unrelenting. He even spoke about next year's trip to the Outerbanks to provide hope to all of the family. Dennis definitely walked to the beat of a different drummer, he was unique and he was loved by many. He will be missed dearly by all those who had the pleasure of knowing this colorful character. You'll forever be in our hearts and our fond memories. In lieu of flowers, the family has requested that donations be made to a friend and classmate from St Raymond's - Archbishop Chris Cardone, OP The Archbishop is building a desperately needed new facility in the Archdiocese of Honiara in the Solomon Islands called the St Mother Teresa Youth and Family Retreat Center. His current facilities are packed to overflowing!! Dennis worked for AMD & Schimenti Construction for many years and would be very proud to be part of this wonderful project. If you would like to make a donation please make the check payable to DOMINICAN MISSION SECRETARIATE and write "SOLOMON ISLANDS" in the memo. Please indicate "in memory of Dennis McDougal" on the envelope Please mail it to his sister who coordinates the international donations at: ARCHBISHOP CHRIS CARDONE, OP C/O Nancy Yurek 647 Lincoln Avenue Winnetka, IL 60093 USA Thank you so much. The family of Dennis McDougal