Heppner, Oregon - David Wayne Denton, 75, of Heppner, Oregon, passed away peacefully at home on June 15, 2025. He was a devoted husband, father, and friend, known for his strength, kindness, and a realist with a great sense of humor.

The Dentons moved to Kinzua, Oregon, in 1946, and David was born August 7, 1949, to Frank D. Denton and Dena Bethene Swanson in Walla Walla, Washington.

David attended grade school in Kinzua, Oregon, where he felt fortunate to be raised in God's Country within the Kinzua community and all it offered. He laughed often about his favoritesclimbing Castle Rock, stinging nettles sword fights, and the time his dad was rolling into town on the railroad and the crew laughed while watching a large tire rolling off the hill at a high rate of speed, bouncing high and finally landing at the bottom and hitting a caruntil Dad realized his two boys had rolled the tire. Kids all over town loading up in M. Boring's station wagon heading to Boy Scout activities, playing baseball, swimming at the mill ponds or Condon's pool, golfing (and being disqualified after winning the father-daughter golf tournament), fishingand Dave loved hunting, whether it was squirrels, deer, elk, or just plunking cans. His 8th-grade class consisted of 3 girls and 7 boys, versus Brookings' freshman class of 90. A lifetime of memories.

The family moved to Brookings, Oregon, where Dave excelled as a catcher in baseball, enjoyed track and basketball, and graduated from Brookings High School.

David served in the U.S. Army from 1968-1970, stationed at Rhein-Main, Frankfurt, Germany, as a Hawk Missile fire control operator and Automatic Weapons repair in the Counterinsurgency Division. He was the recipient of National Defense Service and Good Conduct medals. Honorable discharge: SPE4.

He spent eight years at Brookings Plywood in all facets of production and was self-motivated to learn boiler operations. He moved to Heppner, Oregon, for employment with Kinzua Corporation for 18 years as a boiler operator for production of electricity to the plant and steam drying lumber products. He was promoted to head operator of the new cogeneration 10-megawatt turbine-steam generator for production of electricity for Kinzua Corp. and PGEall phases of production, repair, training, and compliance reporting.

With the closure of Kinzua Corp., David's journey led him to Roseburg Forest Products as a senior operator of five steam turbines/three boilers generating electricity, fired by gas, sander dust, and waste oil. His experience was utilized in the startup of satellite plants at Weed, CA, and Riddle, OR. He later went to work for the Oregon Department of Corrections as a boiler operator in Wilsonville. Desiring to return to Eastern Oregon, he transferred to the Department of Corrections security department for the startup of the newly constructed prison at Umatilla, OR, where he served for 11 years and retired early.

David received the Harrison Hale Award, and umpired Babe Ruth and American Legion baseball for seven years, as well as high school baseball.

He was a lifetime member of Heppner Elks Lodge #358, NRA, and the Regional Boiler Association. He held a 2nd Class Engineering License, served on the Kinzua Safety Committee, and was a team leader of ODOC Class #142.

Remaining to cherish David's memory are his wife, Terri, of 44 years; two children, Tandi Schatz (Shane) of Harrisburg, OR, and David Denton Jr. (Kari) of Shoreline, WA; six grandchildren, Danial, Emmaleigh, Zackary, Gretta, Jim, and Ruby; three great-grandchildren; and his brother, Verlin Denton (Andrea) of Pendleton.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Frank and Bethene Denton, and several aunts and uncles.

At David's request, there will be no service. The family asks that donations be made to Heppner Elks Children's Charitable Department and Heppner Pioneer Memorial Hospice instead of flowers or other gifts.