Dennis Lee Zitterkopf

Dennis Lee Zitterkopf died peacefully in his sleep on July 9, 2022. He was preceded in death by his parents, Ben and Marie (Kliewer) Zitterkopf and a brother, Larry. He was born in Hutchinson, Kansas on April 24, 1939. Dennis spent most of his early life on a farm west of Durham, Kansas, where he attended public school. He loved many aspects of rural life: riding horses, the Cottonwood River, fishing, cattle roundups, breaking ponies, helping with chores, playing sports, playing Hop Along Cassidy and the closeness of neighbors who supported one another in difficult times. Nevertheless, Dennis knew that he “didn’t want to be a farmer” and he also knew he “probably couldn’t be a cowboy.” So he was in the right place at the right time when the Soviet Union launched Sputnik in Oct. of 1957 and the space race began. After graduating from high school, he enrolled at K-State, majoring in electrical engineering. He was a top honors student who funded his college education largely by scholarships and summer employment as a roughneck in the local oil fields. After attaining his BS, Dennis was recruited by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory Space Program (between Baltimore and D.C)—a dream job for a young engineer. Among other responsibilities, he was the design engineer for a joint US/UK submarine project in the Virgin Islands. He traveled to Kenya, Africa as a telecommunications engineer and program manager for a NASA Small Astronomy Spacecraft to map the universe for X-Ray sources. He contributed to the NASA Skylab Team by designing and building a rotating chair to test astronauts’ inner ear function in space. He was a designer for a number of classified projects during the Vietnam War and traveled extensively because of them. His last major project at APL was the recently declassified Big Bird program, a multi-channel receiver system using the Navy Navigation Satellite system (the precursor to what is now the GPS system.) In the midst of all of these projects, he also earned a MS in engineering from Johns Hopkins. Wanting to be closer to his aging parents and also wanting his children to know their grandparents and Kansas culture, Dennis moved his family in 1978 to a rural home outside of Clearwater and then Wichita in 1987. He was in management at Boeing from 1978 to 2001 and responsible for the B52s’ electrical wiring systems, keeping them in the sky for decades and protecting our freedom, as well as weapons integration, and their simulator program. In his life’s journey as an adult, Dennis was accompanied by his wife Deanna (Atkinson) whom he met during a bridge game between classes in the K-State Student Union. They were a well-matched pair in interests and values, and were planning to celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary next month. Dennis was a loving husband and a wonderful father. A friend described him as a brilliant, witty, elegant and steady man who anchored his family. In his kids, he instilled a love of science, space and learning – and happily would climb on the roof to drop various sized balls to prove that acceleration due to gravity was a constant. He was the quintessential well-rounded man who also loved music, especially Bach and Bob Dylan. While living in Silver Spring, Maryland, he enjoyed singing in amateur Gilbert and Sullivan performances. His favorite artist was Van Gogh; in his travels in the US and Europe, he always made it a point to track down versions of Van Gogh’s “Sunflowers.” He loved traditional German food as well as gourmet dishes. He eventually learned to make fancy desserts. Good Scotch was his favorite drink. He and Deanna enjoyed travel—everywhere from the Rocky Mountains to the mosques of Istanbul. His kids were the joy of his life. Ann, Benjamin and Karl deeply appreciate the values their dad instilled in them: the love of country, the importance of family, and the necessity of loyalty and kindness to others. He also adored his two grandsons, Andrew and Thomas, who now live in London – when they were younger he tirelessly built Brio and Lego; then when they were older, he joined them playing pool , doing science experiments , making hand-cranked homemade ice cream and playing family bridge games. Dennis was civic minded, serving on various boards in the community, including the Lakepoint Board and the Wichita Daylily society. He was a strong supporter of his wife’s efforts in Women for Kansas. Dennis’s special passion was the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia; his grandparents emigrated from the Volga region of Russia in the 1880’s, settling with other immigrants in small Kansas farm towns. Dennis was deeply committed to the history and genealogy of these people. He was both the village coordinator for Huck (where his family had lived) and served on the National Board of AHSGR. This group and their work ethic shaped his heritage. Because prejudice against the German-Russians was commonplace, Dennis always supported those who likewise struggled against racism and prejudice. Needless to say, he was very upset by the recent invasion of Ukraine. If he were still alive, he would ask us to remember that we are a nation of immigrants and we should treat everyone equally and with dignity. Dennis will be deeply mourned by his friends and family. He lived a full, interesting life and leaves a gigantic hole in our hearts and lives. A celebratory memorial service to Dennis will be at 11 am Thursday, July 14 at Downing & Lahey East Mortuary, 6555 E Central, Wichita, KS 67206, followed by lunch. A livestream and recording of the service will be available on the Downing & Lahey website under Dennis’ obituary. Donations may be made to American Historical Society of Germans from Russia, 631 D. St., Lincoln, NE 68502; or a memorial for Dennis has been established at the Kansas State University Foundation. Contributions may be sent to: KSU Foundation, 1800 Kimball Ave., Ste 200, Manhattan, KS 66502; please indicate fund M47411. Dennis received the A H King Scholarship from K-State in 1957 and kept the notification letter in his scrapbook. This is a way to give back.

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