Dennis Anthony McBride, 55, of Manlius, New York, passed away unexpectedly at home on February 24, 2021. Dennis was a force of a personality and a presence. The world will be quieter, less interesting and a little more predictable without Dennis. Dennis will be greatly missed by his family, especially his dear wife Jill, and his adored children Mara and Peter.
Dennis was born in the Bronx on the Ides of March in 1965. Dennis was the third child of Peter and Rosemary McBride’s four children. When Dennis was a young child, the McBrides lived in Spring Valley in Rockland County.
In 1971, when Dennis was six, the family moved to Oxford, New York. In Oxford, probably as early as first grade, Dennis honed his skill of telling you everything you did not need to know about a topic, especially history. What made Dennis unique is that he did not seem arrogant, yet he was brilliant. He was a master at using that brilliance to deflect the conversation from the things he should have known (like what may have been in his homework assignment) to the plethora of things he knew. And then he made you laugh. In all seriousness, even as a kid, Dennis was a ferocious debater, he loved a good intellectual conversation and any trivia contest. He would engage with anyone and or everyone (kind of to his teachers’ dismay).
Way before it was mainstream Dennis was a devoted Bruce Springsteen fan, earning him the nickname Bruce in Junior High. He shared Bruce’s compassion for the underdog both in people and sports as he was a passionate Met’s fan. Dennis was also active in sports. Dennis never lost a varsity football game and was an integral part of two undefeated football teams. It is hard to imagine that there is anyone from Oxford that did not know Dennis and have some interesting/memorable experience with him. In 1983 Dennis graduated from Oxford Academy High School and then attended Syracuse University.
While at Syracuse Dennis expanded his network of friends as though it were a major. Dennis worked at Faegan’s on Marshall Street where, we are sure, “everyone knew his name.” Working at Faegan’s Dennis met his great friend, Tiffany Yenawine Wareing. Tiffany is also a fantastic force with a larger-than- life personality. The nights they worked together must have been epic. Tiffany is like family to all the McBrides. Tiffany and her husband Brad’s children, despite living far away, are like cousins to Mara and Peter. Dennis was also a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity. The tremendous outpouring from his frat brothers and how affected they are by his loss is a fitting tribute to Dennis’ impact on people. Dennis loved his experiences at the PKA house, he loved his frat brothers and loved, loved, loved that the PKA house was torn down and made into a parking lot.
At Syracuse Dennis continued his love of contact sports playing rugby because who needs to play a sport with a helmet and pads? It was unclear if he learned all the rules of rugby, but you can bet he was involved in every scrum. Dennis also worked security for concerts at the Carrier Dome. There may or may not have been occasions (every single concert) when Dennis shared his security shirt so people could go to the front row of the concert. He literally “gave you the shirt off his back.”
After college, Dennis began working in the telecom industry. He started at an entry level position, traveling all over the country learning the details of the burgeoning industry. Picture it is 1995 and the reality show is “On the road with Dennis McBride in Barnwell, South Carolina.” The show would only have one season and become a cult classic because, not shockingly, traveling the country working for other people did not exactly suit Dennis. As Dennis learned the industry, he used his best skill, talking to people, and expanded his network. During that time, he met PT Maney, who would become a loyal friend and business partner. PT recognized Dennis’ talent as a salesman and Dennis started recruiting people to work for PT. Dennis stayed in Chenango County because telecom offered good stable employment opportunities. After working for PT for a few years Dennis started his own company.
Dennis started Telecom Procurement Systems (TPS) in Norwich with maybe just one employee. The business expanded and over the years employed many, many people. To say he brought his unconventional style to TPS might be an understatement. Shortly after Dennis started TPS, Tricia Anthony Moore began working there and was the administrative backbone. The reality show of TPS would last many seasons and resemble some “Real Housewives” episodes. Those stories are better left for Trish to tell on Facebook. Trish and many other of the TPS people are like family.
Shortly after he started TPS Dennis embarked on the most important journey of his life. Forget football, rugby, frat houses and telecom, Dennis’ greatest accomplishment was his family. As Bruce would say, when Dennis met Jill Morris he knew “She’s the One.” In 2003, Dennis and Jill were married in Syracuse and settled in Manlius. Dennis and Jill hosted great parties for their friends and extended families. In 2005, they welcomed Mara Katherine into the family. Mara shares her father’s passion for debate, is intrinsically interested in the world and has a great sense of humor. In 2007, they welcomed Peter James. Peter shares so much of his father’s personality. He is charming, funny, and easily makes everyone in the room laugh. They will miss Dennis tremendously. We will always remind them how proud he was of them and how much he loved them.
Dennis was so many things to so many people. He worked constantly for his family. The industry continually changed, and he worked relentlessly to adapt and pursue the next opportunity. He was always on the phone. Like his high school buddies who would call him if their car broke down (only for a ride not for him to help fix the car) many of these phone calls were from people looking for work. They knew Dennis would either give them work or try to find them work. They might or might not end up with a ride or a job but inevitably they would end up with a story. He would, without doubt, tell them about his next venture and that the Met’s and SU looked good this year.
Dennis Anthony McBride, beloved father, husband, son, brother, nephew, cousin, and friend always left you with a story and a laugh. We will, as he would have loved, share many stories about him. It is impossible to succinctly describe him because the adjectives would be a mile long: smart, loud, gregarious, funny, generous, perpetually late, etc. The Springsteen song that Adam Spence shared seems like it was written for Dennis. Bruce said “When they built you, brother, they turned dust into gold. When they built you, brother, they broke the mold.”
Dennis was predeceased by his parents, Peter and Rosemary, his brother Peter. He is survived by his much-loved wife Jill, his two wonderful children Mara and Peter, his sister Agnes McBride of Norwich, New York , his sister Maureen McBride of New York, New York, his in-laws Karen and Jasiu Sobiegraj and Jim and Wendy Morris and many Aunts, Uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews, and friends.
For information regarding services please refer to Scheppfamily.com. In lieu of flowers the family is requesting memorial contributions in Dennis’ Memory be made to the Oxford Food Pantry C/O Marv Hamstra 623 Wilcox Road, Oxford, New York 13830.