Ex-girlfriend’s memories of Dennis Hess

Chris Mitchell was a close friend and former fiancée of Dennis Hess, the former owner of Denim & Diamonds. Because space constraints and other complications prevented her from being quoted in the October 14 feature, “Denim & Death,” she contributed this piece, sent to The Pitch via e-mail, for inclusion in our continuing coverage of the story.

Mitchell writes:

Dennis Hess was the love of my life.

We met about 15 years ago at Denim & Diamonds. He had his perch in the bar where he could sit and see most everything going on. It was from his favorite spot, a railing on the riser nearest the main bar, that he asked me out for the first time. That date started with my first visit to Corner Cafe, included a visit to his hometown of Atchison, Kansas, and ended enjoying the stars on his porch swing. That was the beginning of our years together.

Although I can’t speak for the years between his last divorce and the beginning of our relationship, I would hardly describe Dennis as being “relatively unattached” before meeting Lena [Hess]. Dennis shared his love for Denim & Diamonds with me, but it was the sharing of his love for the friends he made there and the love of his family which I cherish most. He asked me to marry him on my birthday in 2002, and we were engaged when we met Lena.