Dennis Hall

Dennis "Denny" L. Hall (Big D), 73, of Columbus passed away on March 25 ^th at Columbus Community Hospital surrounded by his family after a 7-year battle with cancer.  He was born on January 19, 1950 in York, NE to Howard and Florence (Due) Hall.  He married Cheryl Mead on September 4, 1970.  Together they had two sons, Greg and Cory.

He grew up in Exeter, Nebraska and was baptized and confirmed at the Methodist Church in Exeter.  In high school, he participated in basketball, football, and state track.  He attended Kearney State College, the University of Nebraska - Lincoln, and the University of Nebraska – Omaha studying pharmacy, graduating in 1973.  He started Hall's pharmacy with his brother Kent in Geneva, Nebraska in 1973.  In 1976, Dennis and Kent sold the pharmacy and moved to Columbus to open the McDonald's restaurant with their father.  During his McDonald's career, Dennis held several leadership positions and served on many boards.  The McDonald's franchise has now grown to 13 restaurants in central and eastern Nebraska.

Dennis loved golfing, fishing, hunting, playing Keno, and especially Husker Football.  He enjoyed spending time with family and friends, traveling, eating good food at nice restaurants, and hosting tailgate parties at Nebraska Football games.  He was known at the Husker House as the "bar monitor," welcoming first-time patrons to the restaurant, recommending what to eat, and helping to organize where people should sit around the bar.  Family gatherings on Thanksgiving and Christmas were very special to Dennis who liked to follow several family traditions every holiday.  You could often find Dennis driving around every morning in his Suburban with his morning cup of coffee and was well known for leading the YMCA dance at many weddings.

Dennis was preceded in death by his brother Kent, parents Howard and Florence Hall, and father-in-law Bob Mead.  He is survived by his wife, Cheryl; sons Greg (Kristel) and Cory (Karri); grandchildren Hunter, Dillon, Emily, Alex, and Jenna; sister Sylvia (Barry) Murphy of Exeter; sister-in-law Phyllis Hall of Norfolk; mother-in-law Darlene Mead of Friend; brother-in-law Terry Mead of Lincoln; sister-in-law Deb (Larry) Filipi of Milligan; and sister-in-law Linda (Bruce) Pankoke of Beaver Crossing.

Visitations will be held on Thursday, March 30 ^th from 4:00pm - 7:00pm at Trinity Lutheran Church and Friday, March 31 ^st from 1:00pm - 2:00pm at Trinity Lutheran Church.  The service will be at Trinity Lutheran Church on Friday, March 31 ^st beginning at 2:00pm.  Condolences may be directed to McKown funeral home at www.mckownfuneralhome.com . The family requests that people attending the funeral wear red or Husker attire.  In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Omaha.