Dennis Lewis Rayville, Mo.

Dennis Dwayne Lewis, 68, died Nov. 28, 2015, at his home at Rayville, Missouri.

Funeral services were held 10 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 2, at the Slade-O’Donnell Funeral Home, 103 N.E. Mill St., in Leon. Burial was in Van Wert Cemetery. A memorial fund has been established by the family.

Dennis, son of John and Dora (Hall) Lewis, was born on June 11, 1947, in Clarke County.

Dennis graduated from Clarke Community School in 1965. In 1966, he joined the United States Marine Corp where he went to Camp Pendleton in San Diego, California for training. After his initial training, he was deployed to Vietnam for one year. He was hospitalized in Japan for a month for injuries he received in action in February of 1968, for which he was awarded a Purple Heart. Dennis was also awarded National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Campaign Medal, Vietnamese Service Medal, Presidential Unit Citation and Combat Action Ribbon.

On May 18, 1968, Dennis married Carolyn Sue Parmer at the Assembly of God Church in Van Wert. After two years stationed in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Dennis received orders to relocate to Okinawa, Japan, where he would work as a guard at the military prison until he was discharged in August of 1972. The family then moved to Kansas City, Missouri, where Dennis worked for 30 years on heavy equipment at Lift Truck Sales and Service. In 1979, the family moved to a small farm at Rayville, Missouri, where they raised quarter horses and thoroughbred horses.

John is survived by his wife of 47 years, Carolyn Lewis, of Rayville, Missouri; daughter-in-law Rebecca Lewis, grandson Logan and granddaughter Ember, all of Siloam Springs, Arkansas; sister Connie Hagen of Weldon; in-laws, Eddie and Ellen Parmer, Karl and Barbara Hornef, all of Van Wert, Bubby and Vickie Parmer of St. Joseph, Missouri, Dean and Cindy Parmer and Everett and Julie Parmer, all of Van Wert; and many nieces and nephews, cousins and friends.

Dennis was preceded in death by his parents; son John Thomas Lewis II on April 30, 2015; foster brother John McBroom; niece Christina Mae Hagen and brother-in-law Jim Hagen.