Dennis Niess
In addition to the honor of being a Charter Member of Council 10243, Dennis holds the distinction of being the first Deputy Grand Knight of the Council.  It was back around 1964 in North Dakota that he first got involved in the Knights of Columbus at the invitation of his brother. When the new Council 10243 was forming in 1990, he was asked to serve as Deputy to founding Grand Knight Richard Rebman, who was one of those responsible for getting him involved again.  Dennis held to the post for about two years, but finding that he was able to make few meetings he decided to step aside.

His work schedule is still a factor in keeping him from many Council activities.  Dennis works as a wood specialist for DeLeer's Millwork and because of things he needs to attend to, he often find himself leaving home at 7:00 in the morning and not returning until 7:00 in the evening.  That leaves precious little time for family, let alone other involvements.  An average day for him is being in the shop for most of the day, poring over plans that have been assigned to him.

Another large part of his life is his love of music.  Dennis played in numerous bands including "The Sonics," "Royal King Trio," "Jubilation," Royal Purple," "Koss Family" and "Buckwheat."   He started in bands on drums and vocal back in North Dakota and kept it up once he came to Green Bay around 1977.  Though he never thought much about musical talent, his brother had a band and needed someone on drums.  Within two weeks, Dennis was good enough to open with the act.  He's had the privilege of working with such personalities as Wayne Stewart, Freddie Weller and Rocky Rockwell.  He's also taken up the accordion.

His wife, Ann, has a sister who lived in Howard and on a visit from North Dakota he fell in love with the Green Bay area and they decided to make it their home.  After coming to the area Dennis worked for Wilco Cabinets for three years and for another company in Denmark before coming to DeLeer's where he has been for twenty years now.  Retirement may come around in about four years.

In addition to music, Dennis is an avid golfer and recalls that his favorite course is a country club in Christchurch, New Zealand, but Black Wolf Run in Kohler runs a fairly close second.  Dennis and Ann have been members of St. Bernard Parish for thirty-eight years now where Ann still works as secretary in the Religious Education Office.  They have three children living as close as Appleton and as far as Vancouver.

August 2001