DENNY LOUIS CONDOTTA Richland, Wash. Einan's Funeral Home

In a speech he made as the valedictorian of his high school senior class in 1943 at St. Regis Mont. High School, Denny Louis Condotta said that he and his classmates would endeavor to ''become good and loyal American citizens'' and uphold ''the American way of life.''

There can be no doubt that Denny did just that until he took his last breath on Thursday, May 13, at Kadlec Hospital in Richland.

Denny was born on Jan. 1, 1926 in Missoula, Mon. and was the son of Joe Condotta and Harriet LaShell. Joe Condotta was an Italian immigrant who made his way in a new land working on the Northern Pacific railroad. Denny had a modest upbringing but one in which he dreamed of taking advantage of the opportunities of his father's adopted country. He attended a one-room school until high school and helped his father feed the family by fishing and hunting for deer.

At St. Regis High, he was valedictorian president of the junior class, and took part in basketball, track - once running a mile in 4:20 -drama and journalism.

Shortly after graduating high school, Denny enrolled in the United States Army. He served 31 months with the U.S. Army Engineers as a surveyor, spending 19 months in Europe. He attained the rank of technician, 5th grade, and was awarded two bronze stars. His battalion rebuilt bridges over the Rhine and ther rivers as the Allies were driving toward Munich. He also briefly attended Stanford in 1943 in the ATSP Reserve Program.

After his honorable discharge, he enrolled at Montana State, earning a B.S. degree in Chemical Engineering in 1950. He also was a member of Lamda Chi Alpha fraternity, twice serving as vice president, and also working on the student newspaper, the Exponent. He was also a member of Phi Eta Sigma and was president of Tau Beta Pi. He was a member of the Newman Club and the Inter- Fraternity Council.

After graduation, he moved to Richland to work for General Electric. It was then that he met the love of his life, Leola Dregnie who was also working at General Electric.

The couple was married on Aug. 28, 1952 in Spokane, a union that lasted happily until the day Denny died.

Denny later earned a master's degree in chemical engineering from Cal-Berkeley then returned to Richland in 1955 where he would live the majority of the rest of his life. He worked first for General Electric, then became associate director at Battelle. He then moved to Exxon where he was transferred first to Bellevue in 1978 and to Idaho Falls, Idaho in 1981, becoming president of Exxon Nuclear Idaho. He returned to Richland in 1987 to work for Siemen's in 1987 and retired in 1991.

He was very active in Tri-City community affairs throughout his life. Among his activities were serving on the Kadlec Medical Center Foundation Cornerstone Club, acting as president of the United Way of Benton-Franklin Counties Board of Directors in 1977-78 and as secretary of the Mid-Columbia Symphony Guild in 1989-90. He was also a longtime member of the Kiwanis Club and most recently was vice president of the Kiwanis Foundation. He was also serving on an advisory board to build a new fire department in Richland at the time of his death.

Denny was also an active member of Christ the King Catholic Church. In retirement, he and Leola traveled, enjoyed their Richland home and visited their children and grandchildren. Denny was especially fond of walking with his grandchildren to feed bread crumbs to the ducks in the Columbia River.

Denny was also a voracious reader, a habit that began at an early age when he befriended a railroad porter who would save him newspapers from all the stops along the way. Denny also enjoyed gardening, barbecuing and strolling in the park.

Survivors include his wife of 52 years, Leola; brother, Bill Condotta wife Mary Ellen, of Spokane; children Cathi Janzing husband Bob of Kent, Diane Morton husband Lee of Las Vegas and Bob Condotta wife Tonya of Federal Way; grandchildren Megan Janzing Jones husband Jason Jones, Kristin Janzing, BryanJanzing, Daniella Morton, Paul Morton, Curtis Condotta and Marcus Condotta.

Visitation will be held on Monday, May 17, 2004 from 1:00-5:00 p.m. with a Rosary to follow at 7:00 p.m. at Einan's Funeral Home. A funeral mass will be held Tuesday, May 18, at 11:00 a.m. at Christ the King Catholic Church. Burial will follow at Sunset Memorial Gardens in Richland.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in his name to the Kadlec Medical Center Foundation or the Kiwanis Foundation.