John Dennis Cogdill, Her Prince Charming

The following is what I shared at John’s Memorial Service.  It was an honor to be able to speak, and I really hope my sister was happy with it.

Good Afternoon, I’m Sharon, Laura’s sister.  I want to thank you for being here today and share just a few thoughts with you about John.

Well, one of the first things you may notice is that some of us call him “John” and some of you call him “Dennis”.  John’s dad’s name is also John, so in our family we’ve dubbed them “John” and “Mr. John”.  Growing up, though, to alleviate any confusion, his family called him by his middle name, Dennis.  And, if you met him before he was a business-owning adult, Dennis is what you call him.  If you met him more recently, then “John” it is.  Although I’ve always called him John, today, for all of us, he’s John Dennis.

John Dennis was born February 18th, 1962, to Mr. John and Gloria.  A very short while later his brother, Tim, was born.  Mr. John was in the Navy, so the Cogdills moved to some wonderful places like San Diego, Hawaii, the Philippines, and finally Tallahassee.  John Dennis seemed to have a built-in love for photography that he carried from high-school into his adult life. He has taken thousands of pictures over the years and his love of all things camera related can be seen on the mantle at home – it’s covered in vintage cameras.  The walls of their house also display his talents. His love of the camera flowed over into all things techy.  He and Laura loved hanging out at Best But.  Hot dates, for sure.  Dates; Those dates started over eight years ago. Laura and John Dennis met, or re-met, at church.  They recognized each other, but not having traveled in the same circles in school, they didn’t really know each other.

I’ll never forget her phone calls to me as their romance began to bloom.  There was always an excitement and always laughter.  In fact, the first joke she told me that he had told her, had her in stitches for days.  It was easy to see that they were two peas in a pod.  Attached at the hip.  Meant to be together.  He opened car doors, gave her trinkets, never missed an opportunity to dote on her.  He’d often call me to tell me what he had gotten her and was always so proud that he’d gotten just the right gift.

As their relationship grew deeper, she got to know his family.  He adored his family,  most especially his niece and nephews.  Georgia, West, Kohle, Jace and Raylan Dennis; He was so proud that the baby was given his middle name.  They were his heart,  and Laura’s nephews Ross and Marshall were just icing on the family cake. 

I often tell people that John Dennis and Laura were like an old married couple.  Never in a hurry, always eager to do whatever activity the other wished; whether it be hiking, canoeing, checking out a state park, parades, book stores, rides to the coast; just truly enjoying one another.  I never heard a cross word between them – only laughter.  So much so, that after they were married and he moved in, I don’t think there was a single time I called the house that she wasn’t already laughing from something he said or did. Sometimes we couldn’t even have our conversation because he was cutting the fool so badly she could hardly breathe for laughing so hard.  We’d have to  hang up and try again later.  We should all be so blessed to have that kind of music in our home.

His sense of humor remained in tact throughout,  always cracking wise, even when the words wouldn’t come out just right. 

You all are here today because at some point in your life John Dennis touched you, probably made you laugh, and most assuredly offered some kind of generosity to you.  He was also very generous with the things he “found”.  Being a carpet cleaner, he came across things left behind by their former owners.  It became the long running joke in our family, that if you needed something, you could just tell John Dennis and within a couple of weeks he’d have found it and delivered it to you.  Often times he’d send a picture from his phone of the latest bizarre thing he’d come across.   He worked hard and seriously, but knew how to have fun at the same time.   Always professional. always hard working, as witnessed by 20 plus years in business.

One of my favorite memories, well it’s more like a category of memories, was his tolerance of our many, many garage sales.  At first he would just roll his eyes at us and laugh at us, and always be a good sport and bring us breakfast.  Then, when he realized we were selling off his stuff, he decided he better get in on the action.  He would patiently help us drag load after load to the yard, in the dark, cold hours of the morning.  We’ve done this more times than I can remember and he always gave a good laugh.  I laughed, too, until our last garage sale when he started to sell my $40 tv for $10.   He was cut off from negotiations at that point.

These are just snippets of John Dennis over the last eight years.  I know you each have your favorite story and I hope you’ll share it with someone.  Thank you for your friendship and love to John Dennis and Laura.  Friends were his world, Jesus was his heartbeat.  His most heartfelt concern was that the people around him come to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior, cherish God’s Word, and rest in the salvation of the cross.  We stand assured that John Dennis is now in Heaven because of the redemption of Christ.  John Dennis was raised by a father and mother who taught him the love of Jesus and a desire to know his Word.

You may have noticed that John’s parents and brother are not here with us today.  His brother, Tim, his wife Jennifer and the kids are living in Idaho and send their love.  The kids so miss their Uncle Dennis.  His mom and dad are living in Daytona now.  They each added a love note to the online guest book.  From the kids:  Uncle Dennis, We will never forget you.  You were the best uncle any child could ever want or have in their life and we are so blessed that you touched our lives like you did.  Every year at Christmas with all the gifts that we would get, we could not wait to get the Junk Box from you!  We would laugh and have so much fun with everything you would send in this box.   We love you so much Uncle Dennis and we miss you even more.  Love, Georgia, Kohle, West, Jayce and RaylanDennis.

And, from his parents:  Dennis, you will be missed but we know you are in a better place where there is no pain, only good.  We used to call you Dennis the menace, but you were a pleasure to raise.  We will always remember you and you will be in our hearts.  Love, Mom and Dad.

Thank you for coming out today to honor John and to love Laura and the Cogdill family.  You are a blessing to us all.