Below is Dennis' obituary which was published in today's Anchorage Daily News. There are several items in his obituary that bring back memories: I first met Dennis in a fencing class. In this case, fencing refers to sword fighting as opposed to "running fence." Dennis was the class instructor and a superb fencer. I made my mark by inadvertently scoring touches on him - I was fencing so badly that normal defenses weren't working - it was very funny.
I also introduced Dennis to bird watching. One of his all time favorite stories resulted from his newly developed birding skills. He had just started with the Army Corps of Engineers. He and one of his co-workers, a biologist from the East Coast, were looking out the window at a large flock of waxwings. The biologist confidently identified the birds as Cedar Waxwings. Dennis cleared his throat and said, "Uhm. I believe those are Bohemian Waxwings." The biologist looked at Dennis like he was nuts and then, to prove that Dennis was nuts, the biologist looked up waxwings in the bird book. But, lo and behold, the biologist discovered that the birds were indeed Bohemian Waxwings. The biologist was very impressed.
I am so blue over Dennis' way too early death.
Dennis Mitchell, 54
Anchorage resident Dennis W. Mitchell, 54, was found Oct. 2, 2003, at his home. He had died of natural causes.
A celebration of life will be from 2-7 p.m. Friday at Otter Lake Lodge on Fort Richardson. Friends may call Gail Dudley, 338-6604, Roger Hess, 753-2749 or Carolyn Mould, 753-5523.
Mr. Mitchell was born June 21, 1949, in New York. He graduated from Cornell University in 1973 with a master's degree in civil engineering and geo-technical engineering.
He came to Alaska in 1974 and worked for Alyeska Pipeline Co. In 1977, he went to work for Husky Oil. Since 1987, he worked with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Alaska District. With his broad-based experience in engineering and his love of adventure he embarked on assignments in Shemya, Kuwait and Palau. While with Corps, he became a certified safety engineer and received the Corps' Management Excellence Award.
Mr. Mitchell's interests included kayaking, scuba diving, snorkeling, bird watching and fencing.
He is survived by his sister, Linda; nieces, Charlotte; great-niece, Sydney; and nephew, Mark; all of London, England.
Arrangements were with Evergreen Memorial Chapel.
6:43:49 PM 
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Well, the Cubs-Marlins game is over. The Cub fans look absolutely stunned. And the fans in this picture had probably enter the witness protection program.
