Rebecca Jane Dennis

On August 29th, 2025, surrounded by love and her family, Rebecca Jane Dennis gracefully passed, all too soon, from F*ing breast cancer.  That said, the sadness of her passing is eased by the life she lived fully and shared generously with her family and her countless friends, near and far, for the time that she was here.

Born to Melanie and John Dennis on July 13, 1971, in Evanston, IL, Rebecca was welcomed into the world as the baby of a large, blended family.  From her earliest days, her infectious charm, generous spirit, necessary grit, and dimpled cherub smile won her a special place in the hearts of her family, and anyone else who was fortunate enough to have her in their life. As an old family friend recalled when meeting her as a small child - Rebecca was the most alive human he ever met.

Rebecca's childhood days were lived between Oak Park, IL, and, in the summers, Wisconsin and Maine.  These very different places deeply shaped her and could be seen through all the amazing ways she showed up in the world.  Growing up a true child of the 80's, and just outside of Chicago, her love of art, music, movies and dancing was thoroughly seeded and nurtured. Her passionate commitment to vinyl, VHS, mixed tapes, Walkman, Atari, 80's music and film, and the essential dance party, as well as her impassioned resistance to moving towards all things digital, were endearing hallmarks of her loyalty and connection to her generation.

Her summers were spent barefoot and shoreside at Eagle Spring Lake and Biddeford Pool.  Days passed fully immersed in the outdoors - playing, fishing, swimming, searching for rocks, shells and sand dollars, in constant motion, day in and out, and always in a pack with others.  Everywhere Rebecca landed throughout her life, she found her people.  From her earliest days, she sought out community and connection, and her ability to make friends anywhere and keep them for a lifetime, is truly unmatched. If you were someone lucky enough to be in her sphere you knew this.

Those close to Rebecca know that she was a dynamic human who was not easily defined. She was rugged, gentle, loving, fierce, giving, fearless, intelligent, bold, loyal, wise, skeptical, incredibly witty, savvy, scrappy, opinionated, fun, caring, earnest, deeply convicted, and curious.  Rebecca was also someone who fully followed her own path, wherever it took her. After an initial first attempt at college, Rebecca knew she wasn't ready yet and entered the work world.  As anyone who has ever worked with Rebecca knows, her dedication to every job she ever had and the people she worked with were unrivalled.

She held many, varied positions throughout her life, including at Northwestern Research Park, Johnson State College, Hyde Park Elementary, Zach Woods, UVM Medical, and recently, VT Electric Coop.  To say that Rebecca considered herself as part of a work family at VEC would be an understatement.  There is no way to fully express the gratitude we have knowing how exceptional and genuine the support and love for her and her partner, Nate Perham, also an employee of VEC, during these most trying days has meant to all of us, and especially, to Rebecca.

When the time was right, Rebecca went back to college and earned her BA in Media Studies.  Just as she was graduating, another path presented itself and her real life's work began.  After meeting Nate at her nephew's second birthday party, the two began dating and soon after started their lives together. Over the next few years, they welcomed their two beautiful, amazing children - Madison and Ruby - into their world, and motherhood is where Rebecca thrived.  Anyone who knew Rebecca and her girls knew that her fierce love, commitment, support, and pride for the two of them knew no end.  The pure joy of watching them grow and find their ways in the world was her ultimate.  They were her everything and she was their touchstone.  Her greatest sadness at the end was that she will not fully know the people they will become, and share in their future joys and sorrows, accomplishments and stumbles, and see them with their own future families.

Among Rebecca's countless talents, she was a gifted quilter.  Her attention to detail and inspired vision with each magical quilt she would create, often without a pattern, was pure communication that the recipient was seen, worth her time, and to gift something lasting to remind them of her love for a lifetime.  The act of quilting embodies Rebecca Jane's life; mindfully bringing together many things to make something unified and beautiful is what she did in the spaces she, Nate, Madison, and Ruby called home and what she did with all the people in her life.  A testament to what she cultivated, the constant outpouring of care, visits, love, prayers, memories, gifts, food, flowers, support, etc. that came back to her tenfold, buoyed her from the time that her cancer returned with a terminal diagnosis until her final day.

Towards the end, as she ordered her favorite deep-dish pizzas from Chicago to enjoy one last time, she shared a story that had been relayed to her about a person caught between a tiger and a cliff and a choice to be made in the moment.  As the person chose the cliff and was heading toward the end, there was a single strawberry in the cliff wall that was picked and eaten.  The person remarked "so sweet".  This is the essence that will live on in the hearts and minds of those who were blessed to have known Rebecca Jane.  She never lost sight of the beauty and the joy and the gift, in the face of it all.

…one life, but we are not the same, we get to carry each other, carry each other…

Our collective sorrow is deep, but our awe and gratitude to all who helped and supported Rebecca and her family during this time is endless.  Rebecca and her family could not have honored her wishes to die at home, and on her own terms, without the support of UVM Health Network Home Health & Hospice, and without the gifted guidance and care of Sandra, Julie, Blane, and Beth.

Rebecca has requested that, in lieu of flowers, donations please be made to: Lanpher Library, Hyde Park: https://www.lanpherlibrary.org/donate-to-the-lanpher-library.html and/or LACiNg Up For Cancer:https://lacnvt.org/donate/

For those who knew and loved Rebecca and would like to join us in celebrating her, there will be a Celebration of Life on Saturday, 9/13, at 4pm, at Talta Lodge on the Mountain Road in Stowe.  Please direct all inquiries about the celebration to: tracymeiss5@gmail.com