Mazell Dennis

Mazell Dennis passed away peacefully Saturday, July 2, 2022, surrounded by loved ones and with the knowledge that many more were on their way. She was 93.

She was born Georgia Mazell Stevenson on Feb. 9, 1929 – months before the Great Depression. Her parents, Adena and B.C. Stevenson, were sharecroppers and farmers in Oklahoma. She travelled a rough road but endured.

As a child, she dreamt of moving to New York and pursuing the stage. Instead, caring for her eight children became her career and she seemed, most days, delighted with her work.

At 12, she survived the death of her mother. She described Adena Stevenson as caring, affectionate and soft spoken – much like her.

As a teen During World War II, she watched German POWs –enemy combatants of this country — dine in restaurants that she could not enter. Discrimination, racial inequality, the codified “separate but equal” steeled her determination to create a more just society for her children.

She married Bob Dennis in 1950 and settled in for a life of baseball, domesticity and endless surprises.

She gave, not because she had money to give, but because she knew what it felt like not to have enough. That became the hallmark of how she lived and what she taught.
She pulled off amazing feats. Far too often we heard her say “we’re going to make do.” That meant anything could greet you at the dinner table. Her version of loaves and fishes, though incredibly sparse by even Biblical standards, somehow left you sated and happy as she set the table with her concoction of chicken-fried spam.

She was our cheerleader, cab driver, short order cook, confidant, therapist and teacher.
She loved going to the polls to vote. She would chat it up with the workers and they were glad to welcome her. She didn’t usually need help but wanted to know how the workers were faring. “Have you had a good turnout,” she’d ask. “Well, I’m here to do my small part.” Often, she took some her grandchildren with her to show them the importance of this act. She was compassionate and her sly wit endeared her to both strangers and friends. She adored being a mother and, during her long life, became a surrogate to our friends, neighbors, cousins, and classmates. At the end, her arms were tiny, but her heart was large.

In addition to her husband and parents, she was preceded in death by her brother, Almas Stevenson, sister, Elcena Mitchell and her son, James Dennis, who died in infancy.

Mazell Dennis was a faithful member of Mt. Olive Baptist Church in Arlington and attended services there until her hearing began to fail. A strong believer in Christ, she recognized and eagerly accepted the plan God had for her life as well as her death.

Survivors include her devoted children; B.J. Dennis (Dorothy), Kenneth Dennis (Mary), Debra Dennis-Williams (Roger), Kevin Dennis (Vickie), Gary Dennis (Rita), Gilbert Dennis (Val), Derrick Dennis and Deidra Dennis; numerous grandchildren, great-grandchildren, great-great grandchildren; nieces and nephews, cousins, friends, church members and neighbors.

Mazell Dennis will be greatly missed.

Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted. Matthew 5: 4