Alfred Pearce Dennis' Obituary
Alfred P. Dennis, age 94, died on Wednesday, Sept 23rd, at his home at Sage Hill Farm near Leesburg.
Dennis was born on March 27, 1915, the son of Alfred Pearce Dennis and Mary Value Dennis. As the son of an economist, author, diplomat, and college professor, Dennis, like his father, was born on the Eastern Shore of Maryland was an editor of school newspapers at both Blair Academy and Princeton University (class of 1938) and diplomat. His graduate work in International Relations at the University of Chicago was cut short by the entry of the United States into World War II.
During the war, Dennis served as a naval communications officer in the 7th Fleet in the Pacific, rising to the rank of Lieutenant and playing a role in the logistics of preparing for MacArthur’s invasion of the Philippines. Immediately following the war he was one of the first in Munich, Germany, where he helped process the claims of some 3000 individuals who had lived through the Nazi regime and claimed to be U.S. citizens. His next State Department posting was to Oslo, Norway, where he met and married his wife Eeda.
Subsequent State Department assignments took Dennis and his family to Italy, Iceland, Cameroon, and Somalia. While serving as acting ambassador in Somalia, he met with President Mohamed Siad Barre on several occasions, a particularly challenging job as Somalia was heavily under the influence of the Soviet Union and regularly sought military aid to support its war against neighboring Ethiopia.
Starting in the 1970s, Dennis enjoyed life as a realtor in Loudoun County joining the firms of Winslow Williams and later Stewart Knorr. He was a member of several preservation groups in the area; such as the Piedmont Environmental Council and the Preservation Society of Loudoun County. He served on the board of Oatlands, a National Trust for Historic Preservation site, and worked to raise funds for the completion of the National Cathedral in Washington. Together with his wife Eeda he was a promoter of the conservation of Dodona Manor, the former home of General George C. Marshall.
Dennis is survived by his wife, Eeda Dennis, three sons, Alfred, René, and John, as well as four grandchildren, Carl, Pierce, Samuel and Stefan. His funeral will be held at Saint James Episcopal Church, in Leesburg, on October 3rd, starting at 11am; with a reception afterwards at Sage Hill Farm, 42760 Edwards Ferry Road, Leesburg, VA 20176.
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