Chief (Ret.) Dennis Frank Oaks, 72, of Belleville, Illinois, passed away on Monday, July 8th, 2024. He was born on May 2nd, 1952, in Arkabutla, Mississippi.
Dennis is preceded in death by his parents, Thomas Presley Oaks and Denise Emilienne (Le Roy) Oaks, and Claude “Buddy” Yunker.
He is survived by his wife of 44 years, Valerie (Wood) Oaks; children, Jeffery (David Crockett) Oaks of Belleville, IL, Stacey (Alan Banks) Schaefer of Freeburg, IL, and Sarah (Justin) Schierkolk of Broomfield, CO. He is further survived by his grandchildren, Joshua and Stacey Oaks, Brandon Oaks, Kyle Schaefer, Cole Schaefer, AJ Banks, Claire Schierkolk and Ally Schierkolk; great-grandchildren, Madelyn Oaks, Myla Oaks, Brooklynn McClarnon, and Bostynn Oaks; and brothers, John (Ginee) Oaks of Henderson, NV, John Yunker of Belleville, IL and Donnie Yunker of Brighton, CO.
During his lifetime, Dennis proudly served his community for 35 years at Northwest St. Clair County Fire Protection District in Belleville, Illinois. For the last 14 of those years, he was the Fire Chief until his retirement in 2015. He was well-respected by his peers, and really enjoyed training and mentoring other firefighters. When he wasn’t at work and during retirement you could find Dennis, better known by firefighters, close friends and family as “Skippy”, camping with friends, riding his Harley with the Rolling Wrinkles, having coffee at the firehouse with “the guys”, serving as part-time coroner and traveling to enjoy that special time with his grandchildren.
Visitation will be from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm on Sunday, July 14th, 2024, at Valhalla Gaerdner Holten Funeral Home, Belleville, Illinois. There will be a walk-through by Northwest Fire Protection District at 7:00 pm, any other fire departments that wish to be a part of this walk-through may join.
Funeral will be at noon on Monday, July 15th, 2024, at Valhalla Gaerdner Holten Funeral Home, Belleville, Illinois, with additional time to gather one hour prior to service.
Interment will follow in Valhalla Gaerdner Holten Funeral Home, Belleville, Illinois.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Northwest St. Clair County Fire Protection District, Checks may be taken at the funeral home or mailed directly to 3407 S Belt W, Belleville, IL 62226.
