Delano (Dee) V. Matthews Dennett

Delano (Dee) V. Matthews Dennett went home to be with our Lord on 04-27-2026 at the age of 81. Dee is survived by her husband, Steve (the love of her life), her daughter, Wendy Hill, her grandson, Otto Christopher Hill Jansons, and her nieces, Carol Maples, Alice Turner (David), and Melody Munn (Thomas).

Dee was born on October 25th, 1944, in Safford, Arizona. Her father, Rolly John Matthews, and her mother, Vera Matthews, were farmers in Pima, Arizona. Her mom birthed four sons and three daughters, all deceased now. Dee was the baby of the family. She moved to Safford for her sixth grade and continued on to Safford Junior High School. She was active in a lot of sports and organizations. At that time, she fell in love with basketball and was a fanatic basketball fan. Go Wildcats! Dee was a social butterfly and went to all the proms in high school. She was inducted into the National Honor Society in her junior year and was also honored to go to the Girl's State in Phoenix that same year. Dee was also co-editor for her senior yearbook.

She continued her education at Eastern Arizona Junior College for her Business Administration AA degree. Dee had so much fun in college and made so many friends. After she graduated, she moved to Tucson and got a job at Hamilton Aviation, where she worked for 44 years as an administrative assistant and FAA drug program administrator. Dee loved her job and loved being part of the Hamilton Family. She was the "Voice of Hamilton Aviation" for many years and learned to fly in a 150 Cessna airplane (and also soloed). She was so proud of herself.

Dee got married in April 1965 to William (Bill) Hill. They bought a home in 1970 in the area that would become Oro Valley (it hadn't even become a town yet!). After ten years, they finally had a baby girl named Wendy. Their marriage lasted for 13 years before they divorced.

In 1980, Dee went to Pima College to learn how to ride a motorcycle. She had three motorcycles over the years and her last motorcycle was a 700 cc Honda V45 Magna. She had so much fun with her Retreat Motorcycle Club friends. They camped out on their rides in all the western states. There is a time for everything and she eventually gave up her motorcycle journey in 1994.

Dee then married George Goeman in 1993. He was a good husband to her, but sadly passed away in April 2007.

Dee says she was so blessed to have Steve Dennett as a companion in her life since 2008. In 2010, she was blessed with her grandson, Otto Christopher Hill Jansons, who brought her great joy!

In 2018, Dee and Steve were blessed to be married on May 26th. They were together for 18 wonderful years! Dee was able to live in the house she loved for 56 years - what a blessing!

Dee says, "See you in Paradise!"

Memorial services will be held on May 30th, 2026, at 10:00am at St. Andrews Presbyterian Chapel located at the NE corner of Paseo del Norte and Chapala Drive. Donations may be made to the Humane Society of Southern Arizona.