Processional
Parade of Colors
American Flag
Daddy Sky Cotton
Cancer Awareness
Terry Simental
Gay Pride
Brandon Gentry
Bisexual Pride
Amendah Schremmz
Transgender
Pupper Gazer
Leather Pride
Gerald “Daddy G” Cernak
Bear Pride
Gary Wasdin
Bootblack Pride
Leslie Anderson
Puppy Pride
Pup Aries
Imperial Court of the Windy City
Steven Wolfvein Archer
1 MINUTE OF SILENCE
WELCOME
Welcome to you all. As you might appreciate, this is going to be quite difficult, so I hope you will forgive... and bear with me.... should I happen to falter a little along the way......It's a real honor and privilege for me to be here tonight in front of you all....and I would like to personally thank Dennis’ mother, Kathy, and aunt, Donna for their support in allowing me to organize this celebration for his Ohana.
Ohana means family in an extended sense of the term, including blood-related, adoptive or intentional. The concept emphasizes that families are bound together, and members must work together and remember one another.
We have all been deeply hurt by Dennis' passing, but we will try, in the short time we have here tonight, to make this occasion a celebration of his life and to express our thanks for having known him.
I sincerely hope that at the end of this celebration for him you will also feel glad that you took the opportunity to do some of your grieving in the presence of others who have known and loved him.
We all know how Dennis was notoriously late for everything, and he hated to be in the spotlight? Well, I'm hoping to get the service done before he shows up.
PRAYER/AFFIRMATION OF FAITH
Though he didn’t speak of it often, Dennis did have faith in God. He always wore his cross and St Christopher medal and refused to take them off, even for his tests and scans, unless it was for his own safety. I invite you now, out of respect for that faith, to join me in saying The Lord’s Prayer.
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name.
Thy Kingdom come,
Thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
The power and the glory, for ever and ever.
Amen
REMEMBRANCES FROM FAMILY & FRIENDS
We have come together from different places and we are all at different stages on our journey through life. Our paths are varied, and we look at life in different ways.
But there is one thing we all have in common - at one point or another, and to some degree or other, our lives have been touched by Dennis. And so today we've put aside our usual daily activities for a while and gathered here to give expression to the thoughts and feelings that well up in us at this time of loss.
TJ Howard –
I’ve been trying to find some eloquent or meaningful words to share tonight. To be honest, I’m a little worried that I can’t do justice to DJ. The only thing that keeps rolling around in my head is this quote: “If a [person] has any greatness in [them], it comes to light, not in one flamboyant hour, but in the ledger of [their] daily work.” See, to me, DJ’s greatness wasn’t in some brilliance or one outstanding talent, although he had many. His greatness was his being present in our lives. To each of us he was something different and maybe different things at different times based on our needs. But to each of us, he was there, present, real, and alive.
We all learn to hide away the parts that make us vulnerable but also the parts that allow us to connect so strongly with one another. To me, and I’m sure to many of you, DJ’s openness, love, and acceptance not only meant he didn’t hide the best parts of himself but also let us shine ours a little more too. He wasn’t a saint, definitely not a saint, and he wore those flaws as openly and honestly as he wore his smile and love. He was open and honest about who he was, not letting anything define him but rather defining himself by presence, by the willingness to engage us all in our lives with energy and love.
In life and on social media, I often take a moment to challenge people who are mourning to honor their heroes by taking up their work. If you want to honor an activist, take up their cause with actual work (not virtual). If you want to honor an artist, make art (everyone can) or at least support those that do. I’ve been thinking how to truly honor someone who was a friend to so many people, who was quick to give you a hug if you needed it, and to call you out when you were out of line. Who challenged us to get in the ring of competition even though it scared us and championed every single friend he had. I think the biggest thing we can do to honor DJ is to live our lives with each other as openly and honestly as we can. To be vulnerable and show those parts of us we are often scared of ourselves and be willing to accept and love others because of their flaws and not in spite of them. I think to honor a man who meant so much to so many, we just have to live the best life we can and not let ourselves hide away but engage and be present for one another.
Thank you for your time tonight, for letting me ramble on a minute. And for showing up tonight to honor someone who was a friend to us all.
Terry Simental -
Hi. My name is Terrance Simental. I was a co-worker and close friend of Dennis Kuhn. I would like to thank all of you attending this Celebration of Life for Dennis. I would like to express my condolences to any family members in attendance. The things I remember about Dennis the most was that he always had a smile on his face and was always in good spirits. You would never have known Dennis was sick unless someone told you. He always had a positive attitude and never discussed his problems. He always put others before himself.
I remember the day Dennis found out I had cancer like it was just yesterday. He walked into my office, closed the door, gave me a big hug and said “You’re not alone in this fight.” He told me he would be there every step of the way. He meant it. He researched treatments, called hospitals, talked to his doctors about me. From that day forward, he would ask me what they were doing for me. I would have to stop him and say, “Dennis, I am fine. How is your treatment going?” He would always tell me just the positive news, never wanting to worry me. That is just the way Dennis was – like a big brother. Always protecting and caring about everyone else.
I was lucky enough to see Dennis a few days before he passed so I could tell him how much he meant to me, how he touched my life, and that I loved him. Walking out of that room and leaving Dennis in so much pain was one of the hardest things I have had to do in my life- not being able to help the person that gave me so much and asked for nothing in return.
Mr. World Bear 2018, Johnny Benjamin, was not able to be here tonight, but here to read his words is Mr. Chicago Leather 2014, Miguel Torres.
I didn’t have the privilege of knowing DJ as well as most of you. However, in my short time knowing him DJ really left an impact on me. I first meet DJ online when we were added to a group chat for contestants for the first World Bear Weekend Contest. My first impression of DJ was intimidation. He was this attractive, well-spoken, extremely kind man, and I was supposed to compete against him! However, DJ wasn’t going to let a competition stop him from making new friends. He quickly chatted me up and we became friends. He could always be counted on to give encouraging words and support. He even offered to help make my mix for my talent portion. That’s just the kind of man DJ was.
When I had the privilege of meeting him in person, I was in awe. He was tall and strikingly handsome. He definitely had that rough trucker look. However, the cover to his book was very misleading. Dennis had an amazing heart and we kicked it off as if we had been friends for years. It was at this time I found out Dennis had cancer. He told me a bit of his story and my admiration for him grew. Here I was sitting in front of a man who was literally dying, and all he cared about was making sure other contestants were taken care of and that we raised a shit ton of money for charity. You see that’s what World Bear was about for DJ, he just wanted to make an impact on the world and leave a good impression on some good people in the little time he had left.
Needless to say, I thought of DJ as my main competition for the contest. I honestly felt very inferior when I compared myself to him. After I delivered my speech at World Bear, I made it a point to sneak into the audience to hear his speech. He had just awed me all weekend in one-on-one talks, I could only imagine his impact in front of a crowd. When he was preparing in the back, he was so incredibly nervous (it was cute) yet he was so determined to make sure the World heard his message. DJ delivered a message about unity. He had a strong desire to see the community that he loved so much work together. A line from his speech that sticks with me to this day is “Unity, Community, One Community.”
I will honor DJ in the only way I know how. I will try to carry on his message of a unified community. I will emulate the greatest qualities in him and continue to spread the joy and charitableness that he lived for. I will pass on the messages he told me to my children. DJ will live on in us and his message will still be spread to the world.
Diamond Richards Deveraux Yaki – Performance
Maya Moseberry & Dennis Dippary – Performance
REFLECTION, PRAYER or MEDITATION (Slide show)
A phrase that you commonly hear is that someone lost their battle with cancer. I would like to offer a differing view, especially as it pertains to Dennis. In order to truly lose a battle, one must give up, retreat. Dennis never gave up. He looked cancer square in the face and said FUCK YOU!
When he was first diagnosed, he told me that he didn’t want to become a statistic, he wanted to screw up the statistics. So, he went out and competed in the Mr. Illinois Bear Contest, winning the title of Mr. Illinois Cub. He volunteered all over the city helping put together safer sex packets for Howard Brown Health Center, feeding the homeless, organizing clothes for children in need, as well as helping out here at the Leather Archives. He participated in the Light the Night Walk for the LLS and he counseled other cancer patients. He went to the gym twice a week and was leg pressing close to a thousand pounds. The average life expectancy of a Stage 4 Esophageal Cancer patient is 8-12 months. At the time that, statistically, he should have been lying in a hospital bed, he was off being all social at Iowa Leather Weekend, Mr. Central IL Bear and North American Bear. He was honing his skills in bootblacking. He marched in two pride parades. He ran off to Kentucky to compete for Mr. World Bear. Went to two P!NK concerts. Did a little more volunteering. Raised some money for St. Jude in a Smoke-off, and in his spare time…did I mention that he was still working, driving his truck about 60 hours a week during all this?
Finally, he decided it was time to slow down a little. But before he took a little bit of a breather, he made sure he did one of the most important things that he wanted to do. He went out and voted.
Now, I ask you this - does that sound like someone who lost anything?
Dennis believed very strongly that we needed to come together to make one community. He strived toward that goal from the very first MACHO event held at The Call. Our minds were blown by the diversity that was there. We had drag queens, leathermen and their bois, bears, twinks, transmen and women, puppies, and yes, there were even some muggles there, enjoying Long Islands and killer beats.
Dennis never gave up on his vision of one community, and all it takes is one look around to see that.
Look through the whole world and there is no one like Dennis. He still lives on in our memories, and though no longer a visible part of our lives, he will always remain a member of our family and of our circle, through the influence he has had on us and the special part he played in our lives.
I would now like to invite you all to enjoy the cocktails and refreshments in the lobby. You will notice blue and red buckets set out for donations. Dennis chose to support St. Jude because he would rather have had a child live a long and productive cancer-free life than for that money and time to be spent on an "old man" like himself. He also thought that if they could cure childhood cancer, it was only a matter of time before they found a cure for his cancer. 100% of the donations collected tonight will be donated to St Jude in Dennis’ name.