Dennis Lee Vander Griend
July 8, 2018
Dennis Lee Vander Griend
63, of Wichita, Kansas, passed away Sunday, July 8, 2018. Dennis was born in Sheldon, Iowa, to Sidney and Marie Vander Griend. He graduated from South Dakota State University with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. As a student at SDSU, he began his career in Fuel Ethanol Production. His work took him to several states, but it was while working in southeast Iowa that he met his wife of 24 years, Lee Ann Justice. In 1995, Dennis co-founded ICM with his brother, Dave, and Brad Box. Dennis fingerprints are all over the ethanol industry as he was directly involved in the design of over 105 ethanol plants in the U.S. He was preceded in death by his father, Sidney Vander Griend. Survivors include his wife, Lee Ann (Justice) Vander Griend; sons, Matthew (Andrea) Vander Griend and Micah Vander Griend; grandsons, Eli and Ephraim; mother, Marie Vander Griend; siblings, Marla (Jeff) Sverdlow, Harlan (Diane) Vander Griend, Dave (Debra) Vander Griend, Eugene (Cindy) Vander Griend and Steve (Mari) Vander Griend. Dennis expressed his strong faith in God through his support of Faith Community Church and local and global mission projects. He cared deeply about the unborn by supporting Right To Life organizations. He supported and was an Advisory Board Member of Culture Shield Network as he was concerned about the world he would leave behind for future generations. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Harry Hynes Memorial Hospice or Culture Shield Network. Visitation, 7-9 p.m., Thursday, July 12 at Downing & Lahey Mortuary West. Celebration of Life Services, 11 a.m., Friday, July 13 at Pathway Church Westlink.
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What a blessing and privilege it was to care for Dennis in his final days here on earth, and to share with his wife, brothers and other loved ones, stories of the man he was!
May God be with you all during this time of sadness, but also during this time of celebration for Dennis homecoming to his eternal home!
Without question, he was welcomed when he passed from this world to the beauty of forever life, painless, joyful, peaceful…
What a homecoming Im sure that was..
To the Dennis VanderGriend Family, I am sorry for your loss. Will keep your whole family in my prayers.
To the Dennis VanderGriend family,
It was a pleasure to work with Dennis knowing his passion for our industry and his dedication showed through his work ethic. It wasnt always pleasant, but you know you were getting a sincere response which you had to respect. The blessings I will cherish is the relationship we had through the last several years. Dennis was so focused he may not acknowledge you if you passed him in the hallway. If you gained his respect he would talk to you. I was honored that he would on occasion stop by my office just to say hi and have a friendly conversation. I was so proud of him when he stopped smoking and offered supporting words each time I would see him. I dont lose sight of the fact I am here at ICM because of Dennis and for that and many other reasons Im truly grateful to him and will miss him.
I wish to express my sincere sympathy to the VanderGriend family. He will be missed by many.
I offer my sincere condolences to all members of the VanderGriend family. I know how tightly bound this group has been in their support of family, and their care for others. Personally, I havent had the opportunity to work alongside an individual who has done so much to shape an industry. Dennis had no template to work from, so he made his own. What he did have, was the set of values and passion that is shared by the rest of his family. He is a giant. He will be missed by all of the ICM family. I wish Gods comfort on all of the family during this time of loss.
I NEVER REALLY GOT TO MEET DENNIS FORMERLY, JUST IN PASSING HE SEEMED LIKE HE WAS DEDICATED TO THE ETHANOL INDUSTRY AND HAD COMPASSION IN HIS HEART FOR OTHER PEOPLE ESPECIALLY THOSE IN NEED, IT HAS BEEN A PLEASURE WORKING IN AND AROUND DENNIS IN MY TENURE HERE AT ICM, MY CONDOLENCES TO THE FAMILY.
To the family of Dennis Vander Griend,
We express our sincere sympathy to you in the loss of Denny. We will keep the family in our prayers in the days to come.
Blessings,
Marlyn and Alvina Hofman
My sympathy goes out to all the family. I enjoyed working with Dennis and was taught so much by him.
I met Dennis at Faith Community Church in Wichita many years ago and had the opportunity to enjoy his presence in classes I taught as well as over more than a few cups of coffee back in the church kitchen. He was a man of great love and faith but not one to splash it about when it came to his contributions to others; he was content to work behind-the-scenes, accomplishing what God had called him to. Always present to others, he was also present to God…..how many times I saw him during worship, hands raised to his loving Savior in praise! We will miss you, Dennis, but rejoice in the knowledge that it is only for a little time. Soon enough we will join you in that eternal city prepared for Gods people. Until then, rest in your blessing. We remain in prayer for your family.
My sympathy and condolences to the family. I met Dennis in 1980 and enjoyed working with him on several projects. I enjoyed his candor and knowledge of all processes we worked on together. Will be missed as we move on and his influence in the industry will last forever.
condilances from are family to yours.
To the family of Dennis Vander Griend,
My sympathy and condolences to the family. Dennis was brilliant, hardworking and passionate about the things he cared about. Due to his strong personality he was not always the easiest person to work with, but I learned a great deal about being an engineer and the ethanol industry from him and I will always consider myself lucky to have had the opportunity to do so. I know that I am a better engineer because of it. He will be missed by many across the ethanol industry.
You sure will be missed Dennis! Until we meet again
My heart is heavy for the Vander Griend family. Dennis, I will miss seeing you at work. I will remember our adventure at Bed Bath & Beyond and smile fondly.
To the family of Dennis Vander Griend,
My sincere sympathy to you in the loss of Denny. I will keep the family in my prayers in the days to come.
Blessings,
Debra Alons
I enjoyed working with Dennis and having the opportunity to know him. Ill miss him.
Please accept our deepest condolences for your family’s loss.