DENNIS MICHAEL MANNION

Born October 3, 1940 in Laurel, Nebraska
Departed June 16, 2023 in Melbourne, Florida

Dennis Michael Mannion was born in Laurel, Nebraska on October 3rd, 1940 to Paul and Antonia Mannion. He was the second oldest of 13 children. In 1958, Dennis left farm life and headed west to California via trade school in New York where he studied “ohms law” aka the relationship between current, voltage and resistance and met the love of his life, Frances Jordan, in 1961.
His career in “early” computers took him from Southern California where he worked for Univac, to Dallas, TX and ultimately to Melbourne, Florida with a year spent living in Surrey, England as President of European Operations for Documation. It was in England, with his family, that he surely learned his love of travel.
Dennis left corporate America when the family returned from England and started his first business called Mr. Fireplace in 1981. He and Fran (mostly Fran😊) ran Mr. Fireplace together for 20 years before selling it. During this time another business he started, Beta Max, took root in 1985. Dennis had an incredible desire to learn and build and he continued that trend right up until earlier this year.
Retirement didn’t bring more days on the golf course, although he enjoyed golf for many years. No, retirement for Dennis meant more hobbies than you could keep track of. The one continuous theme in each of his later endeavors was helping others.
Some days you would find him squeezing pounds of vegetables for the juice he delivered to many and other days you would find him squeezing pounds of grapes for his wine making. With a simple request from someone he knew or someone who knew of him, he could feed a hundred people. The Melbourne High School football team always ate well when “Papa” Dennis was asked to provide the pre-game meal.
His volunteer commitments included St. Vincent de Paul, The Knights of Columbus, Meals on Wheels and several others. Always a little Nebraska farm boy inside of him, he negotiated the collection of food from local businesses such as Publix and distributed it to other organizations in South Brevard to feed those in need.
Dennis’ greatest joy was his expanding family including his children Jeff Mannion (Alex), Tami Hamilton (Gray) and Denise Rowell (Tony). He has 9 grandchildren, Lauren Parvin (Daniel), Lindsay Harris (Matt), Thomas Hamilton and Kayla, Tanner, Cameron, Ava, Gavin & Tatum Rowell. The babies always got top billing in Dennis’ life and he was blessed with 7 great grandchildren before he left this earth. By his side for 60 years was his wife, Fran, who happily traveled the globe, or simply to their Georgia cabin, and will forever be grateful for all of the adventures.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to an organization close to your heart in Dennis’ memory. A funeral mass will be held at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, June 27th, 2023 at Holy Name of Jesus Catholic Church, 3050 N. Hwy. A1A, Indialantic, FL. Visiting hours will be Monday, June 26th, 2023 from 5-7 p.m. at Brownlie Maxwell Funeral Home, 1010 Palmetto Avenue, Melbourne, FL.