Dennis Shea, former special agent, Midwest Region, Chicago, passed away December 3, 2015. The following is his obituary:

• Dennis Patrick Shea, 67, died of cancer on December 3, 2015 at the District of Columbia Veterans Administration Medical Center. He was born September 6, 1948, in Winter Park, Florida. He grew up in a military family, living around the world for many years. His father was in the United States Air Force and later with the National Security Agency. Dennis attended elementary schools in the United States, France, Germany, and Morocco. He spent his first high school years in Maryland, and graduated in 1967 from Lakenheath High School, located in England. He attended Niagara University, after which he joined the US Army in 1969. He served in the Army for four years, with one year of service in Viet Nam. He remained in the US Army Reserves and retired after 29 years as a Lieutenant Colonel. Dennis completed a BA degree in Arts and Humanities from the University of Maryland in 1976. Following active duty with the Army and college graduation, Dennis joined the Department of Agriculture, working in Chicago, Illinois. Dennis subsequently transferred to the US Customs Service to work as an investigator with several offices in Florida.

  Dennis was an avid traveler, venturing on several cross-country motorcycle trips and numerous cruises in the Caribbean and Mediterranean. He enjoyed learning and speaking foreign languages, and was conversant in French and Spanish. He excelled as a raconteur, and was remarkably accurate in his prodigious recall of times, dates and places he had visited throughout his life. He was active with the Lions Club, especially in Gainesville, Missouri. He was a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the National Rifle Association and the Vietnam Veterans Association of America.

  In his retirement, Dennis divided his time among many friends in Florida and relatives in Missouri. Dennis is survived by a sister, Barbara Bispham, of Hong Kong and Nantucket, Massachusetts; another sister, Margaret Shea, of Arnold, Maryland; and, a brother, Daniel Shea, of Gaithersburg, Maryland. Dennis loved his nieces and nephew, including Thomas P. Bispham, Jr. of Shenzhen, China, Meghan Parker of Clarksburg, Maryland, Barbara H. Bispham of New York, New York, and Caitlin Shea of Gaithersburg, Maryland.

  Interment will be in the Arlington National Cemetery, with a date to be identified in the spring. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Viet Nam Veterans Association of America.