Dennis Gregor Huber

Dennis Gregor Huber passed away in his home in Edmonton, on October 8, 2024, at the age of 88 years old.

Dennis was predeceased by his parents, Jacob and Catherine (nee Roles) Huber; his brother Joseph Huber (infant); his ex-wife Margaret Joy (Denuke) Huber; his brother-in-law Ed Kloeble; his close friend Theresa Bendick; as well as his many aunts and uncles, including his beloved Uncle Raymond Roles.

Dennis is survived by his children Connie (Dave) LaPier; Tom (Edith) Huber; Valerie Horvatich; Greg Huber; Paul (Aimee) Huber; Richard (Lisa) Huber; thirteen grandchildren, and several great grandchildren.

Dennis is also survived by his two sisters, Jacqueline (Don) Miko; and Jean Kloeble. As well as several nieces and nephews including, Tim (Barb) Miko; Wendy Kloeble; Brent Kloeble (Nancy LaRonge); Debbie (Jack) Sargeant; Cynthia Kloeble; and several great nieces and nephews.

Other special people in Dennis’ life mourning his loss, are Joyce Buchanan and her family; his friend Terry Nunes; his friend Judy Nolan; and his many friends at Virginia Park Apartments where he lived for the last 10 years of his life.

In keeping with Dennis’ request, there will be no funeral services. At Dennis’ request his remains will be laid to rest with his family in the cemetery of his hometown. In lieu of flowers, the family requests you make a donation to your charity of choice. It will also please the family if you remember Dennis in your own way, perhaps with toasting Dennis with a glass of your favorite cheer or playing your favorite song or having a dance in his memory.

Schooling and formative years:

Dennis was born in Bruno, Saskatchewan, on September 1st, 1936. He attended elementary and high school in Bruno. He served as an altar boy at St. Bruno Roman Catholic Parish every morning 7 days a week for several years. Dennis attended grades 11 & 12 at Yorkton College, in Yorkton, Saskatchewan.

As a young man Dennis excelled at all sports he played. He particularly loved playing hockey, baseball and fastball, curling, and track-and-field where his events were broad jump, the triple jump, pole vault, and running the half and one mile running events.

He played hockey as a right wing, and at the age of 15 he played on the senior hockey team due to his exceptional abilities. In baseball, he played mostly 2nd base and centerfield. In fastball, he played mostly catcher and centerfield. His claim to fame was to catch a ball behind his back at a dead run. In his track and field events the triple jump (hop, step, and jump) he had a distance of 20 feet. He also competed in the pole vault with the 10’ non-bending metal poles. He excelled at running the mile. At a track meet in Bruno Saskatchewan as a teenager he broke the 5-minute mile running over hills and on dirt roads in stocking feet. At the age of 16, he did it again at a track meet in Saskatoon, running the mile in 4 minutes and 57 seconds.

Working life:

At the age of 18, in 1954, Dennis signed up for the Canadian Air Force. He was in the military for a five-year term and served mostly in eastern Canada, in the maritimes and Quebec. He spoke fondly of his experiences in the military. He was trained and worked as an Air Traffic Controller in the Air Force. Dennis met Margaret Joy Denuke, who was also serving in the Air Force. Dennis and Joy were married before Dennis finished his term with the Air Force.

After Dennis and Joy left the Air Force they eventually moved to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, where Dennis held various jobs. For 2.5 years he worked for Boychuk lumber as a truck driver, a shipper receiver, and they eventually made Dennis in charge of the lumber yard for the company. For two summers, Dennis worked on the pipeline out of Duck Lake and Batoche. His job was to Xray the pipe to make sure there were no problems with it. Dennis also worked for Yellow Cab in Saskatoon for a couple years.

In the early 1970s, Dennis, Joy, and their children moved to Edmonton. Dennis worked for Yellow Cab for the rest of his working career. His time with Yellow Cab was spent in a variety of job positions including: Taxi cab driver; taxi cab trainer in which he trained drivers for Checker, Yellow, Barrel, and Prestige cabs; Safety Supervisor, in which he had to attend all accidents and deal with all related issues; Airport Supervisor, and Deliveries; and Manager in charge of Dispatch supervising 20 operators. He also spoke of visiting the sick in the hospitals and attending funerals representing the company. Dennis retired from Yellow Cab at the age of 65 in 2001.

Hobbies and Interests:

Dennis was known to be an exceptional dancer. He loved to dance many different dances including the jive, foxtrot, waltz, polka, and two step. He often attended dances and was a much sought after partner.

Dennis was interested in all sports. He watched everything, baseball, hockey, football, swimming, track and field, curling, Olympics, horse races, tennis, golf, and every other sporting event. He always knew the statistics and understood the rules of all the games.

Dennis also was a very good card player. He could play any card game. He was a good poker player, and he also enjoyed playing cribbage. Dennis also mentioned how he enjoyed playing shuffleboard.

Dennis was also a good billiards player, he stated that he liked to play Snooker. Dennis spoke often of the time that he hustled pool from Saskatchewan to Detroit with his good friend Bernie Shaw.

Dennis also liked to play chess. He fondly remembers how all his children played chess in their home in Edmonton. Dennis spoke of how the family usually had 3 different chess boards set up around the home and all the family members actively playing chess.

Dennis coached women’s fast-ball in Edmonton for 21 years from the age of 30-51. Over that time, he coached 4 different teams, the first one being ‘Girl Friday’ and the last being ‘Magicians’. Dennis spoke fondly of that experience and said he enjoyed coaching immensely. The teams toured and attended tournaments throughout many cities and towns in Western Canada. Dennis also credited his exceptional dancing skills to this time in his life, because after a game, the all-women’s fastball teams would go out dancing, and Dennis was the only man available to dance with all the women. For that reason, Dennis had to dance every song played all night long, and that is how he became a skilled dancer.

Personal Life:

Dennis and Joy raised their children in Saskatoon and Edmonton. Dennis spoke fondly of his children’s exceptional sporting abilities and the fun they had in the home playing games. Dennis always mentioned how intelligent and wonderful his children all are, and how successful they had become in their own lives. In later years as Dennis spoke about his children, he felt great pride in what they had all achieved on their own, by their own skills, intellect, and personal strength.

Dennis stated that Joy was a good wife, and they had many good times in their marriage. However, Dennis and Joy separated and eventually divorced in the 1970s, and Joy and their children moved back to Ontario. Dennis stayed in Edmonton and continued working for Yellow Cab. Dennis later met and lived with Joyce for another 25+ years. Joyce and Dennis shared a love for sports and dancing, and they attended the many fastball tournaments of the women’s teams he coached touring parts of western Canada for tournaments. Dennis and Joyce separated shortly after Dennis’ retirement, after which Dennis rented a room with his friend of 40 years Terry, and her little dog Benji whom Dennis became very attached to. In the last 10 years of his life, Dennis moved to the Virginia Park Seniors Apartments in Edmonton, where he met many new friends. He spent time attending dinners and dances with his new friend Theresa, who also lived at the apartment complex. In 2020, after Theresa passed away, his friend Judy and his other good friends at Virginia Park Seniors Apartments, kindly looked in on Dennis and helped him out with his groceries, shopping, and meals, and were just wonderful all-around friends. Dennis enjoyed his time living at Virginia Park Seniors Apartments in Edmonton and was adamant that he would die there, and his wish was granted on the morning of the 8th of October 2024.

Personal Notes from his friends and family:

Dennis, you were one of a kind, there is no other like you. You were always good about complementing the ladies. You gave us joy with your antics and kept us on our toes. We loved watching you dance and listening to your stories. You were the life of the party. You could be loud and exuberant. Your sense of humour and mischievousness was infectious. You stated so many things with a twinkle in your eye. Your knowledge of all different sports was unparalleled. And always…

You will be remembered, and you will be missed.

A Note from Dennis:

Among Dennis’ belongings was found this slip of paper in his handwriting:

THE MEASURE OF A MAN:

NOT – HOW DID HE DIE
BUT – HOW DID HE LIVE
NOT – WHAT DID HE GAIN
BUT – WHAT DID HE GIVE

THESE ARE THE UNITS
TO MEASURE THE WORTH OF A MAN
AS A MAN
REGARDLESS OF BIRTH