Dennis Robert Aikman

Dennis Robert Aikman, 51, of Marblehead and Chatham, passed away in his home surrounded by family in the early morning hours of May 25, 2024. Dennis put on a heroic fight since his pancreatic cancer diagnosis in June 2022. He battled it with hope, strength, grace, and incredibly bad-but-uplifting dad jokes. There is so much to say about this special human and yet if you knew him, you knew his selfless devotion as a husband, father, son, brother, uncle, friend, and cousin – the best roles in his life, he said.

Dennis grew up in Andover where he cherished memories of Andover High School (class of 1991) and AHS soccer and volleyball. A 1995 graduate of the University of Massachusetts (Dartmouth) with a business management degree, he became owner/president of the family specialty paint business, Alvin Products of Lawrence, Mass. After selling the company in 2005 to Dampney Company of Everett, he continued in technical sales with Dampney until the day he passed, developing countless business relationships worldwide. He was passionate about his job and his co-workers, and his family is grateful to Dampney for their support of the Aikman family since his diagnosis. Dennis was also passionate about the valued friendships he made in his college years. Those friends were a huge support to him always, but especially these past 2 years. He wanted them to know their text threads brought many smiles, especially on the hard days.

In addition to his professional career, Dennis spent summers working at the Chatham Squire from the time he was fourteen. It was not just a job, it was his extended family, making friends there from a young age who remained his closest friends. It is also where he met Kate when he was a ‘fry guy’ and she was a hostess. From dishwashing to expediting and cooking, he learned Portuguese (thanks to his beloved co-workers), and with much pride, often said that his life lessons at the Chatham Squire helped him become successful in life and in business. His love for the OG Squire family was felt by all who knew him – he loved to repeat stories from the “good-ol’ days”.

His greatest and most rewarding job was simply being an amazing and devoted husband to Kate and Dad to his 3 loving daughters. Dennis was extremely proud of all their accomplishments, loved reflecting on the memories they had made, and cherished the simple things – snuggling, movies on the couch, walks on the beach… he wished he could freeze time. When he was diagnosed, he often referenced the serenity prayer or the advice of a dear friend: “You do you today, you do you tomorrow, and that is all you can do.” He enjoyed fine dining which always included a seafood tower, Boston sports, fishing, Karaoke, Wequassett, boating, coaching, swimming, boogie boarding, drums, concerts… but most of all, he just wanted to make people laugh and smile. All who knew him would agree he did just that!

Dennis loved sharing his bright light with others and even in his final days, he continued to share his light with similar empathy and compassion shown to him in his final weeks. He often quoted one of his favorite movies, Shawshank Redemption: “Get busy living or get busy dying!” Dennis got busy living, and living he did all the way to the end.

Dennis is survived by his loving wife Kate of 19 years, his 3 amazing daughters Jenny, Taylor, and Noa, and his fur babies, Papi and Mookie. He also leaves his parents Donald and Deborah Aikman of Chatham, brother Doug Aikman (Diane) of Marblehead, sister Dawn Dinnan (Terry) of Dennis, sister Diane Nicholson (Dave) of Harwich, brother and sister-in-law Justin and Meg Shaw of Kansas City, mother-in-law Patricia Uhlmann of Kansas City/Chatham, and 9 nieces and nephews (Ryan, Kyle, Josh, Maddie, Connor, Andrew, Adam, Carly, and Sawyer). He also leaves behind many cousins who cherished their times and memories with Dennis.

His family is forever grateful for the outpouring of love and support from the community. We know he would still be fighting the disease if his body was able to; he had so much more to share with those he loved and the thought of missing future milestones and moments in life devastated him. He was known for being the life of every party, but most importantly, he woke up every day with a smile on his face and a love of bringing pure joy and laughs to others.

The Aikman 5 extends their heartfelt gratitude to ALL who provided him with excellent care at Massachusetts General in Boston, his primary care doctor Dr. Kristin O’Neil-Callahan, Hospice Care One Dimensions Team (Courtney, Hilary, Charlene, Jeff, Jenny, Bob, and Brian), and many others throughout his battle with this disease.

In lieu of flowers, consider sharing a dad joke, watching a Boston sporting event, boogie boarding in the waves, or a boat ride with friends and family.

The family requests that memorial donations be made to Massachusetts General Hospital as it is close to the family’s heart, and their work aligns with their hope to one day find a cure for pancreatic cancer. Donations can be made online or by mail in memory of Dennis Aikman and in honor of his beloved providers, Dr. David Ryan and Dr. Motaz Qadan and their teams. Please reference Dr. Motaz Qadan research fund 230889. Gifts can be made online at https://giving.massgeneral.org/donate?tribute_make=1, or by check payable to Mass General Cancer Center, MGH Development Office, 125 Nashua Street, Suite 540, Boston, MA 02114 (note in Memory of Dennis Aikman).

The family has also established a Donor Advised Fund in Dennis’ honor, and 100% of the contributions made to the following GoFundMe account https://gofund.me/3d516c3d will be directed to this Donor Advised Fund. This will allow the family to continue supporting important causes in memory of Dennis for years to come.

At Dennis’ request, there will not be a funeral as he wished for a party. To honor his wishes, a celebration of life is being planned for July 2025.