Dennis “Denny” Warren Westover
Dennis Warren Westover (Denny), 75, passed peacefully in his sleep on August 29, 2025, at his home in South Charleston, WV, after suffering for many years with pain from 2 knee replacements, pins in his right ankle, and Tinnitus – (ringing in his ears).
Denny became an Electrical Engineer after earning his engineering degree from Grove City College, a conservative Christian college in his home state of Pennsylvania. He moved to West Virginia in 1980, and worked for many years as a construction supervisor at ThyssenKrupp (now TKE), managing elevator installations across 5 states from his office in Charleston.
Denny was a strong warrior for the Lord, and an ardent activist working with our state legislators and other community and church leaders, fighting for righteousness, justice, and truth throughout society, in the Church, and in our public school system. He positively impacted the lives of many recovering from addiction, those formerly incarcerated as felons, and children, through his longtime work with Celebrate Recovery, the Charleston Black Ministerial Alliance, the Boys to Men youth mentoring program, and through his own conservative activist organization, Christian American Patriots-WV, which focused on protecting our kids from grooming, social indoctrination, and obscenity in schools and in library books.
Denny worked with national Christian organizations, such as the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and Promise Keepers, to organize large Christian events, including the 2016 National Day of Prayer with Franklin Graham at our state capital.
Denny married his wife, Gail, “the love of [his] life” on April 4, 2021.
He is preceded in death by his parents, Warren Henry Westover and Helen Louise Hartle; and is survived by his wife, Gail; sisters, Kim Oyler and Joyce Williams; and children, Doug and Christin Westover.
Denny enjoyed spending time with his children and sisters. He was especially proud of Kamaya Cogar, his step-granddaughter from a previous marriage.
A Home-Going celebration to Honor the Life of Denny will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, September 27, 2025, at Valley Christian Assembly, 1703 Bigley Avenue, Charleston, WV.
Memories may be shared by visiting www.Snodgrassfuneral.com and selecting his obituary. Snodgrass Funeral Home, South Charleston, is handling the arrangements.
Denny was a true governmental warrior for our King, Jesus Christ. I met him through a dear friend of mine, Don Matolyak. Don also entered the gates of heaven several years before Denny; we worked together during the 2016 election with Franklin Graham. Our regional team was a very unique & close knit group. I shall miss Denny, as I have Don. Denny left such a lasting impression on my life because of His fervency for His love of our God & his desire to see much legislation be changed to justice & righteousness. When I met Gail, the picture was complete. They were definitely joined together by our Heavenly Father. I will always love you both, See you soon, Denny! Linda Best
I grew up with Dennis in the Pleasantville Assembly of God Church in Pennsylvania,we were the same age. He was always a very nice young man.Our Fathers were good friends as well. I enjoyed visiting at the Westover home, my condolences go out to the family.
I grew up with Denny in Pleasantville Assembly of God Church in Alum Bank, PA.We were the same age and shared a lot of Sunday School classes. He was always a very nice young man, our fathers were great friends, my condolences to the family.
On my own behalf, my family, and the Ugandan young entrepreneurial fraternity.
I extend our heartfelt sympathy to Gail and Denny ‘s family.
I became great friends with Denny on one of his mission trips to Uganda. He was such an encouragement to our business & enterprise building efforts here, inspiring us both in word and deed. A very generous and kind hearted guy.
We will miss him greatly!
Joab Sonko
This may seem trivial, but I wanted to share how this man touched my heart and changed how I saw God and how I saw myself.
I met him while I was cleaning at VCA. From the start, he always greeted me with a smile or a joke, something that never failed to brighten my day. He was always kind to my daughters, always willing to pause and talk with them, answer their questions, and show them that they mattered. That alone is something I treasure.
But there’s something he said to me that amused me, frustrated me, blessed me beyond measure.
The first time, he looked at me and said, “It is such a joy to see you. You’re always so happy. Always smiling. It shows in your girls. They’re always laughing.”
I smiled and thanked him, but honestly, when I left I called my best friend and my aunt to tell them, and I LAUGHED about it because in almost 20 years, maybe more, I had never once thought of myself as happy or joyful. I’ve learned to wear happiness like a costume, it’s not usually something I felt on the inside. So his confidence in that statement, was incredibly funny to me.
But then he said it again.
And again.
THREE times.
And each time, his words stuck with me. They stayed, buzzing in my ears, driving me crazy. Especially during moments when I felt low, stuck, or overwhelmed.
And then one day, out of nowhere, I just broke down in tears. Because it finally made sense.
It was never my joy he was seeing.
It was His joy, the joy of the Lord, shining through.
For the first time in I don’t even know how long, I felt a weight lift off my shoulders. Because I realized it was never about pretending to be happy. It was about letting His joy be my strength. Denny had seen something in me that I couldn’t see in myself: The joy of Jesus, living within me and reflected in my daughters, even when I felt numb or completely empty.
I’m still a work in progress. I’m not overflowing with sunshine and rainbows, I still struggle with the dark places in my head. But now, when the heaviness returns, I remember Denny’s words. And I remember what they truly meant.
I had wanted to write him a letter once, just to say thank you. To tell him that he changed how I saw myself but also changed how I saw Jesus. But I chickened out. Thinking it was silly.
I hope I get to tell him one day, when we meet again. He deserved to know how God used him, how his joy in Jesus changed something in me.