Denton George Dilling, 83 yrs. of age, passed away on March 4, 2021 in Houston, Texas. He was born on September 8, 1937 in Gary Indiana to Denton Alonzo Dilling, and Mary Grace (Bollinger) Dilling. Denton is survived by his devoted wife of 58 years, Carol Anne (Bruce); son, Michael Bruce Dilling and daughter-in-law Kelli Church Dilling; daughter Sheryl Anne Kramer and son-in-law Mark Gregory Kramer; grandchildren, Stephanie Allison (Kramer) Kelley, Austin Michael Dilling, and Alexander Robert Dilling; great granddaughter, Ruth Caroline Kelley, and numerous family members and friends, foremost among them Dr. and Mrs. Bobby H. Hughes, with whom we have shared many family gatherings and celebrations.

Denton graduated from Gary Emerson High School, and earned his bachelor’s degree from his beloved Purdue University. When our nation called he answered by joining the United States Army, where he served at Fort Bliss, in El Paso, Texas. He went on to earn an MBA from the University of Houston, Clear Lake. Denton worked in production planning for the United States Steel corporation for many years at Gary Works in Gary, IN, and later at Texas Works in Baytown, TX. Denton and Carol moved from Gary to Baytown in 1970, where they lived for the next 36 years. Most recently, they have lived in Friendswood, TX for the past 15 years. After U.S. Steel, Denton worked for the United Space Alliance, a NASA contractor, where he was involved with communications software for the space shuttle program. He was very proud of his work, and he has a framed collection of patches from each of the space shuttle missions for which he made contributions.

Denton Dilling loved his wife and family. He loved nothing more than to gather together with family to celebrate holidays and birthdays, and to enjoy great company, wonderful food, and time spent among those that he loved. His son Michael and daughter Sheryl had the great honor of hosting their parent’s 50th anniversary celebration on Saturday, September 29, 2012. Denton was so proud of his three grandchildren and their accomplishments. Denton always stressed the value of an education, and his children and grandchildren took the message to heart.

Denton loved Texas A&M University, where his son, daughter, grandson Austin, granddaughter Stephanie and grandson-in-law Travis have all earned degrees. His youngest grandson Alex is nearing completion of his engineering degree at the University of Oklahoma. Denton loved and had a passion for sports of all kinds and had an encyclopedic memory of sports facts and figures, but he especially loved auto racing and baseball. He was a devoted Chicago Cubs fan, and a fan of the Houston Astros and Houston Rockets. Denton loved NASCAR, Indy cars, drag racing, and dirt track sprint car racing, and he and his son spent countless hours sitting in grandstands enjoying the sport they loved and enjoying time together.

A memorial will be held on Saturday, March 13th, at 2:00 PM at Crowder Funeral Home, 111 E. Medical Center Blvd., Webster TX 77598. In lieu of flowers those wishing to make a memorial donation in Denton’s memory may do so to the Kyle Petty Victory Junction Gang camp for children with severe medical disabilities (www.victoryjunction.org) or to the Jeff Gordon Children’s Foundation (www.jeffgordonchildrensfoundation.org) for the treatment of childhood cancer.