EAST LANSING (WKZO-AM) — Hundreds turned out to the Breslin Center in East Lansing to say goodbye to a firefighter killed in a hit-and-run while collecting donations for the Muscular Dystrophy Association at a south Lansing intersection.
Dennis Rodeman was remembered as a jokester and a kind man who found meaning when he met his wife, who is currently pregnant with the couple’s first child.
“Dennis Rodeman was a good man,” Lansing and East Lansing Fire Chief Randy Telifarro said. “Today, let us honor him.”
Telifarro said Rodeman’s life was about service — first in the Marines, then in the fire house.
“He’s given way more than he should have had to,” Telifarro said. “His life was taken, and that he didn’t deserve.”
Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero said Rodeman was a hero before his death Sept. 9.
“Leader, mentor, friend, teacher, go-getter — these are a few of the words that I’ve heard used to describe Dennis,” Bernero said.
Rodeman was laid to rest at West Carmel Cemetery near Charlotte. He was 35.
– Anthony Pollreisz
