Dennis Wayne Cardin, 72

Dennis Wayne Cardin was born in Palisade, Colorado, on April 17, 1946.

On April 13, 2019, he quietly ended a long fight with Alzheimer’s. Surrounded by family, he drew his final breath a mere four days shy of his 73rd birthday and a week before the 53rd anniversary of his marriage to Geraldine Cardin.

For those who knew him, he was a loss felt too soon. For those who didn’t know him, he was the guy who came up and talked to you anyway, as though you were lifelong friends. If you have lived in the Flathead Valley for more than a decade, chances are good that you or somebody you know has tasted one of his beautifully decorated, shamelessly delicious, and obscenely fattening cakes for which he won awards and lifetime customers. Be it his sublime culinary endeavors, intricately patterned knitted creations, or photography, Denny Wayne had a way of turning any hobby into an art form. Any stranger into an acquaintance. Any hand in need into a heart full of gratitude. Life kicked him hard in the beginning and at the end. He loved it anyway.