Dennis E Stump

Bluefield, VA – Dennis E. Stump 74, originally of York, PA, died Sunday December 26 ^th 2021 at his home.  He was the adoring husband of Jill Pritchett for 27 years.

At his request, no service will be held.  His friends are urged to gather to celebrate his life.

Dennis was born June 6, 1947 in York, PA the son of Lawrence Stump and Lula (Flickinger) Stump both deceased.  He graduated from York Suburban High School in 1965 and from Penn State in 1969 with honors.

Following graduation, he joined "York International" (Johnson Controls) where he held a wide range of leadership positions for over 40 years.  During that time, he had the honor to work with an outstanding group of engineers, designers, skilled craftsmen and professional staff.

Dennis was always a "gear head" who loved working with his hands. He did everything from fixing cars to remodeling homes.

He held a private pilot's license, was an avid backpacker, a mountain biker, a caver, a horseman, a kayaker and a lover of climbing big mountains.

His passion for the mountains led him to the greatest find of his life.  In 1994, while on an expedition to Africa to climb Mt Kilimanjaro, he met Jill Pritchett from Bluefield Virgina. Little did they know that that chance meeting would change both their lives.  They married in 1995 and converted a 25-acre property in south central PA into a horse farm.  There Dennis became a horseman and, with the guidance of Jill, gave rescue horses a second chance.

Together Jill and Dennis rode their horses, rock climbed, kayaked, biked, caved and traveled throughout the US and Europe. For several years they were group-organizers for a commercial travel agency.

Following his retirement in 2013, Jill and Dennis relocated to Bluefield where they purchased and renovated a little "fixer-upper".

Shortly after moving to Bluefield, Dennis was diagnosed with the rare, progressive and incurable lung disease Pulmonary Fibrosis.  Although, at diagnosis, his life expectancy was three years, he managed to remain active for all but the last of the seven years that he survived.  For two of those years, he volunteered as a drug-trial research subject.

Both the cause of Pulmonary Fibrosis and a cure remain elusive.  Dennis asks that you please consider making a contribution to the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation or other charitable organization working to find a cure, not only for Pulmonary Fibrous, but for other unforgiving diseases such as Black Lung, Cancer, ALS and Alzheimer's.