Dear Editor,

It is with a heavy heart that I am writing this letter. I had double walking pneumonia the week that Dennis Lorz passed away, consequently was out of the loop and missed the funeral. For that I apologize, to the family and the community. I felt compelled to make an effort to express my feelings because of that absence.

Dennis was one of a kind, the epitome of that stalwart pioneer spirit that is so well defined in the culture of Okanogan County. Dennis honed that to a fine point in his life-long love of the outdoors, hunting, fishing, adventuring in Alaska and surviving a Grizzly Bear attack. He was a fierce competitor, a tenacious trap shot, all the while fostering that cagey little smile with his calm demeanor.

I will greatly miss you my friend!

Jim DeTro

Okanogan County Commissioner