March 10, 2021

Dee Denton, a founder of many Lake Oswego traditions, and a true gift to Lakewood and all the arts has passed away.

Among many of Dee’s creations is the Lake Oswego Festival of the Arts, which she started in 1963 as the Arts and Flowers Festival. From that beginning, this arts event has grown to a three-day event drawing thousands of people to the community each summer.

Dee was Executive Director of the Lake Oswego Chamber of Commerce for more than 30 years and was the impetus for such traditions as the tree lighting ceremony, Lakewood in Lights, the flower baskets, Leadership Lake Oswego, and the list goes on.
 
Dee remained active with Lakewood in her retirement as an advisor to the annual  Arts Festival and was an honorary board member of the Lakewood Theatre Company/Lakewood Center for the Arts. Of special note: Dee served for more than 47 years as a board director and then honorary board director of Lakewood. Her children and grandchildren have followed in her footsteps and are all active in serving the community.

Dee loved to laugh and we’ll always cherish the memory of her being enthusiastically positive and joyful about life, work, and most of all, family. We all owe a debt of gratitude to Dee for making Lake Oswego such a great place to live and work.