Dena Webb

Dena Mary (McKenzie) Webb was born March 28, 1959, in Battle Creek, Michigan, to Eldon and Betty McKenzie. The youngest of four children, Dena had three brothers—Eldon, Scott, and John. When she was a toddler, the family moved to Indianapolis where she spent her childhood. She would later attend Warren Central High School and earned a bachelor’s degree from Ball State University in Muncie. Dena grew up attending Old Bethel United Methodist Church.

Her family home was on the east side of Indianapolis, and she grew up in a neighborhood full of children—there were fifty on the street where she lived. Dena was fun-loving, bubbly, and spirited and had a great laugh. She loved playing outdoors with friends, playing the flute, singing with a choir, fishing, taking family trips to lakes in northern Indiana each summer, and visiting her grandparents on a farm in northeast Indiana and at Crown Point in the northwestern corner of the state. There were twenty-four aunts and uncles and more than fifty first cousins on her dad’s side of the family, and Dena’s memories of her time with them stayed with her. On her mom’s side, she often talked about the visits to Crown Point to see Uncle Jim and her grandmother Dena Mary, whom she was named after. A favorite memory of Dena’s was the family’s cross-country trip to California when she was eight years old.

A successful, longtime career in retail management saw Dena working for a number of large department stores, with responsibilities that often included relocating to open new stores in other states. Dena’s work took her to such places as Texas, Colorado, Wisconsin, Minnesota, as well as managing stores in Fort Wayne and Indianapolis. She especially loved living in Texas and the American Southwest, and she often spoke fondly about deep-sea fishing off the coast of Texas. She also collected Native American art and jewelry.

After returning to Indianapolis, Dena loved spending time with her nieces and nephews and their families. She could light up a room with her laugh and smile as she was growing up, and this quality never left her as an adult. One of her nephews describes her as a whimsical, loving spirit. Dena also enjoyed boating and spending time with her close friends Jennie and John Schenck and their family. She lost her first husband, Chuck, to cancer in 2009, though her beloved Lhasa Apso, Charlie, remained her constant companion.

Years later, God brought Dena together with her husband of the past four years, David Webb. Dena and David first met and dated at Ball State back in 1978 and reconnected online in late 2017. They were married in June 2018 and lived in Hermitage, Tennessee, just outside Nashville. Dena and David worshiped and served at Joy Church in Mt. Juliet.

Dena is survived by husband David; brothers Eldon, Scott, and John McKenzie; nieces and nephews Megan Hart (Billy), Ian McKenzie, Dan McKenzie (Bilgi), David McKenzie (Amy); and the children of those families, Wyatt and Henry Hart and Jackson, Olivia, Johnny, Lucy, Maddie, and Ben McKenzie.

A celebration of Dena’s life will be held June 4 in Indianapolis at Linwood Christian Church, 4424 E. Michigan Street. Dena attended this church for six years and sang in the church choir. Visitation is at 12 noon EDT, with the service to follow at 1:00 pm. Food will be served after the service. Donations may be made in Dena’s name to a charity near to her heart, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.