Denny was born in Meadow Lake on May 9, 1947 to Dave and Dorothy Blatz. He was the 6th child in a family of ten. He attended Beaverdale School and later Dorintosh School. The classroom wasn’t a place he enjoyed so at 15 years of age he went to work for various farmers in the area.
His older sister Shirley was living in Calgary at the time so he decided to go there and look for a job. He stayed with Shirley and her two young girls, 2 and 4 years old. As Shirley often liked to sleep in a little, he would often give Cathy and Debbie their breakfast and maybe take them for a drive or amuse them in some way.
He soon found a job at Engineered Homes where he worked for many years. He boarded with a couple who lived in the country west of Calgary. His brother Bob worked on a ranch close by. It was here that he met his future wife, Shirley, when both were out riding their horses. They married in May, 1972 in Calgary a few years later.
Before moving to Rapid View, Denny went on various trail rides with his horse, the longest one being a week long ride from Waterton Lakes to Calgary.
Denny’s desire was always to farm. He purchased four quarters including the house and yard from Ronald and Joyce Esau in 1975. They soon were into raising pigs along with some cattle. There were times when they awoke to a squealing baby pig under their bed that had been brought in to warm up and had got out of the box by the heater. Denny worked off the farm for the first few years building houses for Paul Kuffert.
Their cattle herd increased. Summer pasture was along the Beaver River. The pasture flooded on two separate occasions, forcing the cattle to be moved out which was quite an ordeal getting them to swim across the deep, swift water to the gate where they could be loaded.
Denny was a hard worker and always put everything into his work. He was a jack of all trades fixing equipment, doctoring sick animals and doing carpentry work and all the other jobs that go along with farming. His cattle were well looked after and he would lose sleep if any were missing or had got out. There were always critters around as he had to put up with Shirley’s menagerie of birds and animals.
He liked to visit and was never at a loss for words. A&W was his favourite coffee shop where he could often be found visiting with friends.
Denny enjoyed curling and snowmobiling in the winter. Often Denny and a group of other snowmobilers would enjoy the snow covered trails through the bush nearby. Fishing was his passion too and you could quite often find him on the riverbank.
We are thankful for having Denny with us for as long as we did. He will be missed by all who knew him.

Condolences To The Family Can Be Sent To www.jethomasfuneralhome.com

J.E. Thomas Funeral Home and Crematorium Ltd. of Meadow Lake, Saskatchewan have been entrusted with the arrangements (306) 236-5501

• Date : 2026-10-23
• Location : Meadow Lake, Sask.