Born and raised in Salinas, Dennis Laurence joined the California Division of Forestry in 1961 where he served for 10 years, reaching the rank of Captain.  He joined the Pleasanton Fire Department in 1971 and retired as Deputy Fire Chief of the Livermore-Pleasanton Fire Department after an additional 27 years of service.  During this time, Dennis also graduated from the University of San Francisco with a degree in Public Administration.  He was known to be a great fisherman and loved to fish trout in the Sierras, and salmon and steelhead along the coastal streams of California.  He also loved spending time in Hawaii.  Most of all, he adored being a firefighter.  He valiantly battled lung cancer until his passing in 2006.