2 minute read
Parishioner Profile — PAUL DENNIS: A Knight with a Servant’s Heart
If you go down into Paul Dennis’ basement, you won’t encounter something spectacular in the eyes of the world, such as a lineup of awards for athletic or professional achievements — but you will find something that is spectacular in God’s eyes.
“I have a ‘wall of fame’ in the basement with all of my Knights of Columbus (KC) awards,” Paul says. “I joined the KCs in 1960, and I am now quite active as both a third and fourth-degree member. Since then, I have held offices much of the time, such as Courier Editor and Grand Knight. In the last 10 years, I have been named Knight of the Year three times, and twice I received the Knights of Columbus Family of the Year award!”
Advertisement
Over the years, Paul has contributed a tremendous amount of time and talent to our parish’s KC Council #1804. There are 14 different committees coordinated by the council, and Paul enjoys serving on a number of them.
Annually, Paul enjoys putting on an appreciation dinner for our parish altar servers, which includes an outing to the bowling alley. Three years ago, Paul chaired an event celebrating the 100th anniversary of Council #1804. About eight years ago, he started the Widow’s Dinner, for which he also currently serves as Chairman.
“Because of the pandemic last year, we offered a drive-through dinner for the widows at Our Lady of Lourdes, who paired up and went to individual homes to eat their meal,” Paul says. “First, we were just going to serve the dinner to widows of former Knights of Columbus members, but then various widows who had not been married to Knights asked if they could come and receive a meal as well. So, we told them they could if they simply paid $5 for their meal.”
Furthermore, Paul came up with a phone directory that includes the numbers for the KC members and their wives. For the last nine years, he has raised $2,500 every three years to support this project.
Overall, belonging to the Knights of Columbus has been a profoundly meaningful experience for Paul — it’s an experience that has enriched him spiritually and socially in amazing ways.
“Being part of the Knights of Columbus helps us grow in our Catholic faith,” Paul says. “The four core principles of the Knights are charity, unity, fraternity, and patriotism. We try to abide by these and live by them.”
Paul and his late wife, Jean, joined our parish family in 2006, after moving to the area from Florida. Paul currently attends St. Mary’s Parish.
“I really enjoy being with the people of our parish,” he says. “They have been like a second family to me.”
Paul and Jean savored a special devotion to St. Anthony.
“I just lost something so I prayed to St. Anthony, and it worked!” he says. “He usually helps me out. My wife always said that when she gets to heaven she will work on his committee!”
Paul Dennis has contributed a tremendous amount of time and talent to our parish’s KC Council #1804. There are 14 different committees coordinated by the council, and Paul enjoys serving on a number of them.
