Dennis Wetmore

Dennis Alan Wetmore, surrounded by family, stepped peacefully from this life into his heavenly life with Jesus on Saturday, March 14, 2015, at his home in Ignacio, Colorado. He was excited to be going home to his Lord Jesus’ loving arms, and expressed his joy to everyone he encountered during the five months he struggled with a rare cancer. His detailed account of this struggle via CaringBridge exemplified his lifelong transparency and educator’s spirit.
Dennis lived many lives all at once: husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, businessman, educator, amateur actor, musician and comedian. He was a voracious reader, especially of older science fiction, Civil War, and World II, and loved movies, hoping to the end that he’d live to see Jurassic Park IV. He is best remembered for his ministry to children throughout the community and his unabashed willingness to reach out to them in whatever outrageous attire he deemed fitting.
He was born in Los Angeles, CA on Dec 26, 1945 to E.G. Wetmore and Dorothy Skinner, graduating in 1963 from La Miranda, CA, High School. He enlisted in the U.S. Army upon graduation, serving in So Korea during the Vietnam era. In 1972, he received his B.S. in Criminal Justice from Colorado University at Boulder, and his Master’s degree in Public Affairs from Metropolitan State College at Denver in 1975. He married Sharon Ray of Denver, Co in 1972 in Ft. Collins, CO. They became followers of Jesus Christ on May 8, 1974, and currently worship at Mountain View Community Church in Durango, CO.
He worked in many capacities in law enforcement in the Denver area from 1967 to 1980, from an undercover officer in the first metropolitan narcotics task force to various ranks in the Wheatridge Police Department, where he established the first training academy and burglary task force. He served as Chief of Police in Moses Lake, WA and Holbrook, AZ from 1980 to 1984.
In 1988, Dennis and Sharon moved to their current home in Ignacio, CO, where Dennis became a tax collector for the State of Colorado. In 1997, he established Shar-N-D Cleaning, now Wetmore, Inc., which he and Sharon continue to own and operate.
Dennis is survived by his wife of nearly 43 years, Sharon; two daughters, Shannon Nelson of Denver, CO and Shelly Herzog of Waco, TX; one son, Denny Wetmore of Denver, CO; three sisters, Virginia Rider of Alvaredo, TX, Evelyn Scurlock of Cleburne, TX, and Carol Robb of Middleton, RI; two brothers, Richard Wetmore of Farmville, VA, and Robert Wetmore of Lahore Pakistan; nine grandchildren, one great-grandchild, and many nieces and nephews. He is preceded in death by his parents, his sister Christine Steiner, his son Sean Wetmore and his grandson Sean Michael Wetmore.
A memorial service is planned for May 30, 2015 at 3 pm at Needham Elementary School, Durango, CO. Friends may want to share a brief story or memory of this amazing man at that time. Contributions in lieu of flowers may be made to the Mountainview Community Church of Durango which meets at Needham Elementary School, the Good Shepherd Agricultural Mission (www.indianorphanage.com, where his niece Katie (Wetmore) Singh Rana serves, or the Cholangiocarcinoma Foundation.