A. Dennis Mead

1. Dennis Mead

1937 – 2023

A. Dennis Mead was born on April 23, 1937, in Salt Lake City, Utah, to Alfred Norris Mead and Alta Jensina Myers Mead. He passed away peacefully in his home on August 4, 2023. His early youth was spent in Salt Lake City, after which he moved with his parents to Wyoming, spending time in both Green River and Pinedale before returning to Salt Lake City. Dennis attended both Granite High School and the then-new Olympus High School, from which he graduated in 1955. After working as the head bookkeeper for First Security Bank for a short time, he chose to serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was thrilled to accept a call to his ancestral home of Norway, where he served from 1957 to 1959. For the remainder of his life he kept close ties to Norway.

Upon returning home, he enrolled at the University of Utah, where he added Russian, French, German, and Swedish, to his language repertoire. He then earned his MA in Russian at Vanderbilt University, after which he completed a PhD in Russian at the same institution.

While attending one of his French classes at the University of Utah, he met a charming young woman from Iran, Irene Kar. They were married in the Salt Lake Temple on September 1, 1965, and later moved to Ft. Wayne, Indiana, where Dennis served as bishop and taught Russian and French at Indiana/Purdue University. It was there that four beautiful girls—Lisa Chirine, Monique Shahin, Tatjana Denise, Anitra Cimine—and a long-awaited boy, David Javan, were added to the family.

In 1978, after a brief move to Utah, the family relocated to Frankfurt, Germany, where Dennis served as the translation manager of Europe for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Dennis was an active member of the Church throughout his life and served in various capacities there. He especially enjoyed singing with the Tabernacle Choir, where he also served as a language coach, inventing a new phonetic language that enabled the Choir to sing in more than 20 languages in numerous foreign venues.

Dennis was an avid photographer and expanded that talent into a venture called MediaWorld, where he produced professional slide shows. Later, his career with Shipley Associates and Franklin Covey took him literally all over the world. He visited more than 72 countries and circled the globe several times. He thoroughly enjoyed traveling and collected cherished souvenirs everywhere he went.

In his later years he enjoyed reading, writing, family history, exercising, and gardening—creating what was for him a beautiful and relaxing mini paradise in his backyard in Salt Lake City. He lived his last years in scenic Alpine, Utah, where he loved living close to some of his children and their families.

He is survived by his five children—Chirine Wadsworth (David); Monique Mead; Tatjana Chamis (Flavio); Anitra Kerr (Erik); and David Mead (Danielle); by 24 beautiful grandchildren; and by 16 great-grandchildren.

Funeral services for Dennis will be held on Tuesday, August 8, 2023 at 11:00 am in the Alpine 1oth Ward Chapel, located at 327 South Long Drive   Alpine, Utah.  Family and friends are invited to attend a gathering and visit with family from 10:00-10:45 am prior to services at the church. Interment will follow services at the Highland City Cemetery, located at 6200 West 11000 North, Highland, Utah.

In lieu of flowers, Dennis requested that donations be made to the General Missionary Fund of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 

Those wishing to view services via internet may go to https://zoom.us/j/97884707578