Dorene Gentry
Dorene Ann Gentry was born Oct. 21, 1941, in Beloit, Kan., to Leo and Louise (Bruggeman) Nible. She attended St. John’s Catholic School through the eighth grade and graduated from high school in Great Bend, Kan., in 1959.
Dorene worked at St. Rose Hospital in Great Bend for three years and then moved to Salina, Kan., to work at Asbury Hospital for a year when she met Don Gentry, who was stationed at the Air Force Base in Salina.
Dorene and Don were married in June of 1963 and in that union she was blessed with four children, Teresa, Mike, Michaelle and Wendy. They divorced in 1970 and she moved to Boulder, Colo., and worked at the College Conference Center for six years. She worked two years at the Elks Lodge in Boulder.
While in Boulder, she met Ken Granger and they started living together in 1975. In 1978, they moved to Longmont, Colo., where Ken had a towing and salvage business. In 1993 they moved to Custer, S.D., and Dorene resided in Custer ever since.
Ken and Dorene were together 35 years until Ken passed away Dec. 19, 2010.
Dorene liked to make afghans in the winter and she gave them away to family and friends. She loved her four kids, her grandkids and her great grandkids.
Dorene passed away Sept. 29, 2024, at Custer Care and Rehab. She was 82.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Leo and Louise Nible; her partner, Ken Granger; and her grandson, Lance Gentry.
Dorene is survived by her children, Teresa Dike, Mike (Brenda) Gentry, Michaelle (Randy) Perdue, Wendy Gentry, and Trina (Jeremy) West; sisters, Doris Mooneyham, and Betty Sforzini; grandchildren, Josh Gentry, Natasha Ufen, James Abbott, Benjamin Perdue, Scott Perdue and Britini Gentry; and eight great-grandchildren.
Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m., Saturday, Oct. 12 at Chamberlain McColley’s Funeral Home in Custer, followed by committal services at the Custer Cemetery.
Please dress casually.