Dennis Wavrin

Dennis LeRoy Wavrin 1946-2025

Dennis L. Wavrin, 79, of Minnetonka, MN, passed away on November 16, 2025 at M Health Fairview Southdale Hospital in Edina. He was born in Owatonna to Jerome and Dorothy (Vesely) Wavrin in 1946. He graduated from Owatonna Highschool in 1965 and attended college at the University of Minnesota where he received his Doctor of Dental Surgery degree in 1972. He married Maureen Emily McDermott in 1970. Dennis and Maureen raised their 3 children in Le Sueur, where Dennis had his own dental practice and Maureen was an elementary school teacher. They retired to Maple Grove in 2014 to be near their grandchildren and both began volunteering at Rice Lake Elementary School. After Maureen's death in 2018, Dennis founded and operated Maureen's Readers, a non-profit with the mission to give books to kids.

Dennis loved spending time with family, boating and fishing at his home in the Brainerd Lakes area, gardening, outdoor projects, cooking, volunteering, and playing cards with his grandchildren. He enjoyed traveling, especially to Alaska. In 2021, he got a boat in Homer, realizing his lifelong dream of owning a boat in a marina. In 2024, he married Patricia Anderson Doshan. He was preceded in death by his parents and by Maureen. He is survived by his children, Katie (Col. Christopher) Robertson of Stuttgart, Germany, Christopher (Shelly) Wavrin, and grandchildren of Maple Grove, and Kelly Wavrin of Minneapolis. He is survived by his brother David (Carol) Wavrin of Hibbing, by his wife, Patricia Wavrin of Minnetonka, and many nieces and nephews.

A heartfelt thank you to the caregivers at M Health Fairview who made sure Dennis was comfortable in his final days. A Celebration of Life will be held at a later date.