Dennis "Deny" Thompson, age 60, passed away on February 20, 2024, near his home outside Wisconsin Dells, WI, as a result of battling with cancer.

A Graveside Service will be held at Spring Grove Cemetery in Wisconsin Dells at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, March 16, 2024. A Celebration of Life will immediately follow at Poor Nate's.

Deny was born on October 4, 1963, in Portage, WI, the son of Jack and Bonnie (Fisher) Thompson.

Deny is survived by sister, Tracy Thompson (Bill) Matuszak; brother, David (Barb) Thompson; nieces and nephews, Jenna Thompson, Peter Nickeas, Taylor Thompson, Jack Nickeas, and David Thompson as well as his friends, Kenny and Kelly Kozlowski, and Joy Whitson. He was preceded in death by his parents, Jack and Bonnie (Fisher) Thompson, Carleton Kassner, and his brother, Steven Thompson.

At his core, Deny was a patient and gentle artist and outdoorsman with a deep appreciation for the fragility of life. In his mother's home until her passing, hung works of his from high school where he graduated third in his class in 1982. He spent most of his free time fishing all seasons, on ice or on a boat or walking through woods and prairies to hidden spots he'd only told a couple trusted friends and family about. He had the patience to teach this to relatives and kids, to smile and raise his eyebrows and laugh a tiny bit to himself at the inevitable tangle or knot. He'd park his truck to get turtles off the road and in the years before his own mother's passing took great care to her physical comfort and mental well being at the end of her life. As an adult, the artistic instincts were put into taxidermy, something he did more when younger but still later in life mounting deer heads and trophy fish for friends and family. He had his own shop years ago in Briggsville , WI. He once trained a dog named Ginger, using sign language, to open a refrigerator door and bring him beer among other tricks and commands. When Bonnie was in a nursing home, he took her out in her wheelchair on an autumn day and collected leaves that had fallen to the ground, pressed them between plastic and placed them inside books. On a visit with Bonnie to the family home one afternoon, he and Tracy used these for an art project but also to attend to their mother's mind and dexterity. With the leaves and cardboard she'd grown impatient with the process, but Deny in a gentle and knowing way nudged her along and together they created a collage that, after her death, hanged in his kitchen. He missed her, of course. It's something he and Tracy talked about in the last couple months before his passing.

Deny's illness became very hard and he did not want to put this hardship on his family. His wishes were known after his passing as he left notes of reassurance for his sister. These reminded Tracy and Deny's friends of how attentive Deny was to the feelings of others, knowing after his death there would be grief and this was an attempt to limit that, by making the always difficult act of settling affairs easier.

The day Deny passed, he watched the sunset from the woods near his apartment where he loved to fish. A quiet and tranquil place.