June 1947 - August 2023

Dennis Robert Tomkinson was a caring husband, father, grandpa, papa, uncle, brother and friend.

He was born June 20, 1947, to George and Evelyn Tomkinson in Evansburg, Alberta. A middle kid in a large family of 13 children, Dennis had stories that would keep us entertained for days!

At age 20, he married his high school sweetheart, Joanne Louise Clark, and their loving relationship spanned over 5 decades. This October, they would have celebrated 56 years together.

Family was very important to Dennis, and this love was evident at the annual Tomkinson Family Reunion. Starting in 1988 in the Evansburg area for an extended family of over 100 members, only a pandemic or wildfires could stop Dennis from gathering his siblings and their families!

Serving for 40 years as an Alberta Land Surveyor, Dennis logged thousands of miles on highways, cutlines and wellsites across the Province. After battling prostate cancer in his 50s, Dennis and Joanne decided to retire early to spend more time together pursuing their love of the open roads, snowbirding in their RV Motorhome every winter in California and Arizona.

In California, they made many new friends and discovered Dennis’s new passion: Pickleball. He picked up the sport quickly, entering competitions across North America. At the 2014 Canada Summer Games, Dennis was crowned Canada’s first-ever 65+ National Pickleball Champion.

Dennis always had a love and gift for teaching and coaching that began with his kids’ soccer and softball teams. This continued with Pickleball, where he became a certified coach, teaching the sport to thousands of new players at clinics and classes across Canada and the USA. He continued to advocate for the construction of new public Pickleball facilities. Eventually, he became a Certified Referee covering multiple national events.

Dennis is survived by his wife Joanne, son Cory and his wife Teresa, daughter Jolie and her husband Andy. He was a loving Grandpa to Rieley, Raegan and Rowan in Alberta and a loving Papa to Chanida, Sam, Daow and Ella Jane in British Columbia. These grandkids will deeply miss his engaging, playful, encouraging attitude. Dennis leaves behind a multitude of extended family, including in-laws, nieces and nephews and siblings.

The family will hold a Celebration of Life at Glen Allen Recreation Complex on Saturday, September 16, at 2:30pm. All are welcome to join us as we gather to remember the life of a man loved by so many.

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