WEST POINT - West Point native and business icon Dennis Menke died Saturday night at Southeast Iowa Regional Medical Center in Fort Madison at the age of 81. His death leaves a legacy of work, and a tremendous void in the lives of his family and many others.
Menke's obituary and service information is at: https://www.pencitycurrent.com/stories/schmitz-funeral-home-obituary-dennis-a-menke-81-west-point,133502.
Menke was the revered patriarch of the Menke family, and is irreplacable in the West Point business and Catholic community.
He graduated from St. Mary’s Catholic High School in 1961 and married Kate Geers two years later. They moved to Chicago where Dennis worked as a diesel mechanic with the Santa Fe Railroad and had a second job at a paving company. In 1967, he moved his family back to West Point going to work at J.J. Nichting Co. until he purchased a business from his father-in-law, Ed Geers, in 1971. Menke Oil merged with Bentler Oil in 1976 to form Jet Gas.
In 1978, Kate and Dennis started Crystal Ice and spent the next 35 years in the ice industry garnering national attention for innovative methods. Dennis was inducted into the International Packaged Ice Association Hall of Fame in 2006. After the sale of the Arctic Glacier ice plant in 2013, he continued to be a mentor to both the ice industry and leaders in his local community.
In 1970, along with Jim Bendlage, he was instrumental in organizing the first St. Mary’s Fall Festival, served on the Marquette School Board, and spearheaded efforts for the new Holy Trinity Catholic grade school as he and Kate personally funded the marketing efforts for that capital campaign. His final dream was to see the completion of the second phase of the grade school construction, and his energy in that project remains.
A memorial Mass will be held Friday, September 19, 2025, at 4 p.m. at St. Mary of the Assumption Catholic Church in West Point. A celebration of Dennis’ life will be held immediately following Mass at the American Legion in West Point. Interment will be in Calvary Cemetery at 10 a.m. Saturday, September 20, 2025. All are welcome to attend either service.
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