Dennis Lee Huston

Dennis Lee Huston, husband, father, grandfather, football analyst, and quite likely the kindest and most well-respected citizen of Temecula, CA, passed away, with the earth literally shaking, on Monday, April 14, 2025, after orbiting the sun 78 and a half times.

Denny leaves behind a wife, two children, four grandchildren, a collection of pins from the 1984 Olympics, a multi-generationally owned car, three Budweisers chilling in the fridge,  an unopened can of bean dip, and (ever ready for coin toll booths to reappear) over two pounds of miscellaneous coins in his car.

Born in Hillsboro, Illinois in 1946, Denny tested his confidence growing up and exploring in Illinois, Louisiana and California, completing high school and ultimately graduating dental school from USC in 1971.  During the Vietnam War, he was drafted into the Army, serving two years helping fellow soldiers maintain their smiles while based in Oklahoma.

A loving, mischievous, and funny man, Denny married in 1969, eventually settling in Southern California after completing his tour with the Army.  He alternated living with his parents, finding apartments and homes to reside in with his small family, while building up his talents as a dentist.  Finding working for others ended him in court, he and his buddy Jim created a thriving dental practice under Top Gun’s flight path.

Denny was an excellent and well-loved dentist, yet one can be great at something and not necessarily love it.  He divorced from dentistry and moved to Oregon in 2001, living there semi-retired, educating people on DIY home improvement projects until realizing more income was still needed.  After a few years in Oregon, he and Pam moved to Temecula and, after a recommitment ceremony to dentistry, created yet another thriving practice.

Friends and family agree that Pam and Denny made a strong married team for 56 years.  Working together to make Dentistry Part 2 palatable, she helped the office staff and kept the practice looking nice, while he motivated people to smile with pride.  Their love led to many happier people in the Southern California sunshine.

Known for his kindness and humor, Denny often made people laugh.  His holiday letters always included an anecdotal funny story about experiencing the world, family and people in general.  Denny genuinely had a gift in being able to connect with people around him, often through humor…but also because he could relate and make them feel seen and understood.  His intelligence was regularly shown via joyful and witty puns or creative ways to let friends and people know he cared.  He built a “special” mechanical contraption to detect earthquakes, gave an extra grippy golf putter to a golfing friend, and made many Halloween costumes, including one he could squirt whip cream out of as a giant Twinkie.  He brought wonder and joy to those around him, often with people questioning, “What will he think of next?!!”

Denny established many routines that enabled him to get through dental school, dentistry, raising children and numerous presidents.  His cornerstone routine was Taco Bell.  Passing on to his children the importance of Friday at Taco Bell was one of his life missions, with proof of his success in this endeavor evidenced by his youngest granddaughter anointing April 14^th Taco Bell Day in honor of him after he passed.  Taco Bell’s around California and Oregon took notice and had a moment of silence with him now gone.

You could always count on Denny to help out.  He unselfishly shared his time, sweat, money, movie reviews and humor whenever asked – selling candy bars for school fundraisers at his dental practices (job security), hefting furniture for family moving out of state, back into state, and around town, offering tips on how to manage money or handle taxes.  Denny was service oriented and made doing tasks more fun for his presence.

Denny cherished his family and friends and they cherished him.  He kept in constant contact and always looked forward to seeing you again.  Wherever you were with Denny, be it casino crawls, watching sports, working, or eating…when you were with him, you were usually having a good time.  Thousands of people literally smile because of him due to his skillful prowess as a dentist and his quick, yet caring wit.

In the end, Denny lived an extremely fulfilling and blessed life.  He loved his wife, children, friends, grandchildren and all those near and dear to him.  Never a burden, he humbly accepted well deserved praise and deeply felt gratitude from others.

Denny Huston will very much be missed.

Denny is survived by his wife, Pam, his children, Jeff (Eden) and Jeanette (Lance), his grandchildren, Flynn, Sawyer, Hope, Brooklyn, his sisters, Carolyn (Zig) and Ginger (Mike), and many, many friends.

Funeral arrangements were entrusted to England Family Mortuary, Inc.