It is with deep sadness and broken hearts that we announce the sudden passing of our beloved Denise Virginia Demianiw on Wednesday, October 11, 2023. Denise was born on May 12, 1953 at Port Hueneme, CA, the eldest of Nellie Godina’s 7 children.
Denise has one son, Benjamin born in 1980. She loved him so much and it was often hard being a single mom but her siblings were there for her as she was always for them.
The first 16 years of her life were spent living on various Army bases in California, Germany, Texas, and Washington. Denise loved remembering the years spent living in Germany in the cities of Augsburg, Bindlach, and Bad Kissingen. She developed a love for movies while living in Bindlach at age 7 and taking her siblings to Saturday morning matinees. She had fond memories of attending Schweinfurt Junior High School and two years attending Wurzburg High School having to get up very early to catch the military school bus often in very cold wintry weather. She attended Hueneme High School for her Junior and Senior years and graduated in 1971.
After graduation, she attended Ventura Community College and worked at Kmart for several years. She eventually returned to school and obtained her bachelor’s degree while working for the State of California under the Headstart Program. Denise worked as a preschool teacher and eventually became a Child Development Resources Supervisor and retired in 2011. Her students knew her as Teacher Denise. Living in Oxnard for over 50 years, she occasionally would run into a student from one of her past classes fondly calling out to her “Teacher Denise!”
Denise has been surrounded by children all her life. Being the eldest of 7, she cared for and helped raise her siblings. When they had children, she often cared for her nieces and nephews especially in the summer months when school was out. She also cared for some of her cousins children. She loved all the kids and often spoke of the fond memories she had with them and they loved her too.
Denise had a love for music, all genres. She always knew the name of a song and who performed it. Her first job as a teenager in Germany was babysitting and earning 50 cents an hour. She would spend her money buying 45’s and 33’s and hundreds of batteries to play them on her portable record player. She was always happiest listening to music and had a large collection of all her favorites.
When she retired, she discovered a love for coloring. She would listen to music and color and was happily on social media discussing with other adults who enjoyed sharing their talent and knowledge of all the aspects of the art of coloring.
Denise always enjoyed being around family and friends. She was the rock, the anchor, the backbone of our family. She was someone you could call whenever you needed someone to talk to or to get something off your chest or just to have a friendly chat. She would often suggest a good movie or a television show or series. Denise was very kind, understanding, and had the biggest heart. Always willing to talk, listen, and provide advice when asked. She will be missed so much by all whose lives she touched.
Denise’s memory will be forever cherished by her son Benjamin, her best friend Leo, her siblings Dodie, Debbie, Deanna, Darren, and Doris, their spouses Rudy, Paul, John, Bonnie, and Keith, and all their children plus the many relatives who have loved and known her throughout her beautiful life. Denise’s youngest sibling David passed in 2013.
Family and friends are invited to visiting hours at 1pm on Wednesday, October 25, 2023 with the Funeral Service at 2 pm in the JOSEPH P. REARDON FUNERAL SERVICE & CREMATION SERVICE.