Dennis Ronald Maki

On January 3, 2007, Mr. Dennis Ronald Maki greeted Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Dennis was born the son of Charles and Esther Maki on May 18, 1938 in Munising, Michigan. He was a member of the 1954 U.P. State Championship Munising Mustang Basketball team as a sophomore at Mather High School. Following graduation in 1956, Dennis enlisted and served in the U.S. Navy. He was employed at Kimberly Clark in Munising as a pipe fitter. Dennis married Beverly Ruska and together brought into this world one child, Denice. Beverly preceded him in death in 1964 at the age of twenty-two due to complications due to kidney disease. Dennis married Linda Tweedale (Trzeciak) and brought into the world two boys, Cal and Bradd. Dennis moved to Utica and was then employed with Borg Warner as a pipe fitter in Sterling Heights. He had resided in Utica until November 2006 when the remainder of his life was in the company of the Howell Care Center in Howell, Michigan. Dennis enjoyed his life and his joy reflected to his friends. He was an avid Lions and Tigers fan and loved to watch old Bob Hope and Bing Crosby movies. He was known best for sharing his wit and joy with others. Dennis will be sadly missed by all. Dennis is survived by his parents - Leonard and Esther Burkhalter of Munising; daughter - Denice Hurt of Princeton, WV; sons - Cal (Tisha) Maki of Howell and Bradd (Jennifer) Maki of Midland; seven grandchildren - Brandon and Justin Hurt, Kayla, Kameron, and Karter Maki, and Brent and Sara Maki; brothers - Carl (Mariellen) Maki of Rochester, MN, Robert (Patti) Maki of Anthem, AZ, and Bryan(Sandy) Burkhalter of Deerton; sister - Debbie (Jim) Perttula of Munising; several aunts; numerous nieces, nephews, and cousins. He was also preceded in death by his father, Charles Maki and son-in-law, Frank Hurt.
Visitation will be held in Shelby Township at the Wujek-Calcaterra Funeral Home on Thursday. On Saturday, January 6, 2007, a visitation will be held at the Bowerman Funeral Home from 2:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. Military honors will be conducted by the Alger County Veterans Council at 2:00 p.m. A prayer service will be conducted by Rev. Dr. Lynn Hubbard in the funeral home's chapel at 3:30 p.m.