Benjamin Gus Denna, 39

Benjamin Gus Denna died June 12, 2016.

He was born May 18, 1977, in Quincy, California, the youngest of six children. His family moved to Kalispell in September of 1979, where Ben attended grade school and middle school at Evergreen and Flathead High School. He met his future wife, Addy Sherwood, in 1995, and they were married March 18, 2000. Together they had three children who were his whole world.

Ben has always had a love of sports and the outdoors. Taught at an early age by his father, he enjoyed hunting. Some of his fondest memories were hunting with his dad, brother, nephews and sons. He loved that he was able to take his son hunting for his first time last year. Ben was a grand fisherman, who didn’t eat fish. Unless he kept them to bring home to his dad, he believed in catch and release — he always said, “If you let ‘em go, you can catch them next time.”

Ben liked playing sports, but his greatest pleasure was watching and coaching his children in all their sports and activities. He treated his whole team like they were his own kids. When the players began to have self doubt, he knew how to build them up and help them discover their self worth with kindness, compassion or just being goofy. He always wanted them to have fun and enjoy the game.

He recently discovered he loved to hate golf and was excited to teach his sons so that they could all go together.

For 16 years he worked as a machinist, loving his job and bringing home custom creations for his children.

Ben was preceded in death by his two nephews, Brian Webb and Donny Hall.

Ben is survived by his three children, Kaileigh, Gabriel and Trenton, of Kalispell; his parents, Maynard and LaVonea Denna, of Kalispell; his siblings, Connie Hall of Bassano Alberta, Larue Drager of Spokane Valley, Washington, Brenda Webb, Barbara Denna, and Maynard Denna Jr. of Kalispell, along with many extended family members and friends.

A funeral service will be at 1 p.m. Saturday, June 18, at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Kalispell, with a viewing one hour prior. A graveside service will follow at 3 p.m. at Glacier Memorial Gardens.

Johnson-Gloschat Funeral Home is caring for the family.