Dennis 'YOGI' Carmer, Sr. 69, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, passed away on Friday, May 12, 2023. Celebration of Life: 11 a.m. ' 2 p.m. with a brief service at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, May 21, 2023, at the CFMC Clubhouse, 1027 9th Street SW, Cedar Rapids. A final ride to Sutliff will follow. All are welcome.
Survivors include his sons, Kenny (Brandi) Carmer of Aurora, Colorado, Dennis (Heidi) Carmer Jr. of Ely, Iowa, Michael Carmer of Cedar Rapids, and Shawn (Chelsea) Carmer of Lisbon; grandchildren, Shenandoah, Sean, Jonathan, Nicholas, Ashton, Dallas, Gabe, Preston, Gavin, and Connor; siblings, Delbert 'Butch' (Janet) Carmer, Jr., Tom Carmer, Laurie Schulze, and Teresa (Gary) Gordon; his Chosen Few brothers; and his faithful canine companion, Sandy.
YOGI was born on August 17, 1953, in Cedar Rapids, the son of Delbert and Grace (Moore) Carmer Sr. He attended Lisbon High School and worked in roofing for many years with DC Taylor as a 'high rise waterproof engineer'. YOGI was a dedicated member of Local 182, the Chosen Few, and the Frozen Few. He enjoyed mushroom hunting, snowmobiling, drinking PBR with his friends, and playing Euchre.
He was preceded in death by his parents and siblings, Bev Stepanek, Carolyn Oler, and Kevin 'Bear' Carmer.
Memorials may be directed to the family.
We are deeply sorry for your loss ~ Stewart Baxter Funeral & Memorial Services – Mount Vernon
Pops you will be missed. We wasnt the closest but it was nice knowing you was always there. May you rest on peace.
Q: How did you meet Dennis YOGI?
A: We met YOGI through his friend Melissa. We helped do things for his 69th birthday party at Rumors. I made several t-shirts for him and friends. YOGI came by to have his patches sewn on his vest and visited for a short while. He was a very nice man. We’ve only known YOGi a short time. Peter and YOGI could sit and talk and bullshit for hours. YOGI will be greatly missed.
Please accept our most heartfelt sympathies for your loss… Our thoughts are with you and your family during this difficult time.
Please accept our families condolences
at this time,
Dennis was a easygoing soul 💝
We will never forget him
To his friends and family
you are in our thoughts at this difficult time !
D was my father for 18 years. More so than my own father was. He taught me so much and found humor always. I miss your mornin and your quiet laugh
The first time I met Yogi, a friend and I came into Rumors on a Monday afternoon to find this grumpy but nice guy behind the bar that I have never met before. We asked if he could make us food and he said no food on Monday western day with Yogi. We decided to stay and drink our lunch. A month or two later I had got to know Yogi better and I decided to tell him I had a crush on his son. He told me why go for the younger version when he was the older more mature version. He had a great personality and always made me laugh. He will be missed by everyone.
We knew Dee for many many years and always enjoyed his humor. I am sure that my late wife Carolyn is already cracking jokes with him on the other side.
I remember meeting Dennis for the first time when he was married to that very unpleasant woman, I think her name was Carole. Anyway Dennis was such a delightful person and we were so blessed to have known him. He will be greatly missed.
Inappropriate. I’m sure this was posted by a family member of his first wife. Childish.
Inappropriate. I’m sure this was posted by a family member of his first wife. Childish.
But true. And im his son
…For the record……
I first met him this lifetime at Green Grass & High Times, a killa party in Central City in 1981.
I also met his legendary Uncle, Homer Stoneking
We are still Fremily, & I adore his Sons & their Wives.
The second time we met, in ’89, his buddy Bob & my friend Cindy went on a ride after having played pool all afternoon..
D said, ” I don’t usually let women in skirts ride my bike..” to which I replied, ” I don’t usually ride anything but Harleys but your Honda chopper is da bomb, I’ll ride with you..” Sweet kiss 💋
One day in ’99, he wandered into my restaurant in Mt Pleasant and I still remember exactly what he ordered..
Aug 4th will forever be Enchilada Day!
I respected his work ethic. He led by working alongside with his crews.. No one built better Butler roofs
He told me he didn’t like high school, it got in the way of his 2 jobs at the filling stations in Lisbon.
He worked very hard to provide a good life for his boys, although it meant he was away roofing, much of their childhood.
He loved All his sons born to that 1st marriage, but he especially respected & enjoyed his son Kenny, born from an chance encounter. He worked with his father at DCTaylor Co. They had a special connection.. He called him Pop. They were practically twins..
After his first marriage ended, he told me he’d find me again.
That he did. 5:30 in the am on the Saturday morning of the Stateline Rally in Keo, he searched the fairgrounds and found me camping in my pickup truck. It was magical. He introduced himself to all my friends as my husband and I still wear that gold wedding band he gave me, to this very day. We began what was to be a beautiful Best Friendship that lasted 18 years.
He was a wonderful Father figure to both my children, he treated them as his own.
They called him, dadD 🥹
I made him wait 5 years before I said yes to his marriage proposal. Partially because my kids come first, I never thought he would ever hurt them
My Dad adored him, as did All my Family. He gave us our Darlin Boy, Otter B BigDawg, from Dad’s rat terrier, Trixie..
We All had the most fun camping, on the Skunk, it was an epic wedding! We then honeymooned at T.I.T.S bike rally at Conesville.. It became our home away from home for 10 days, twice a year!!
Lifelong friends were made Every Year!!
Because I believed he should repair his relationship with his sons, I sacrificed my home in Mt Pleasant.
My kids were in college, so we moved North. Lisbon was a delight and Rompot brought me wonderful family in Ma & Pa Bowers & ‘most’ of their kids/ grandkids.
Ma was my Bestie & Pa told me he loved me & I better not forget it. He was my rummage sale partner.
They took D into their hearts as a bonus son & I felt their love EvaAlways.. I got the Best niece, too!
Tragically, we lost our house in Rompot to the flood of 2008. But thanks to Fremily & Kenny, we were able to fill a semi & save my kid’s heritage. I was SO grateful to Ken for saving me, I gave him My Harley, it was his Father’s very first Shovelhead Low Rider
I saved many treasured memories for his sons from the flood, as well. We weren’t able to save D’s father’s precious mahogany desk, that was tragic.
Our first grandchild Dallas, sat there on my lap & wrote his first name on that desk calendar. I kept it tucked away safe and Michael wears it tattooed on his arm.
It was a difficult 5 months in Brandi & Ken’s basement, for All of us. But I am still so grateful for their kindness.
Brandi is the best thing that ever happened to Kenny.
After 5 months searching on the computer, I found our lil bit of paradise on the hill, and bought it in 3 days!
On be lour hill, I still have friends & most importantly, my Sister Neen & my Ma who took us into their hearts and made me a part of their family. They loved D, too.. but hated the bs I was put through after he chose to ride off to be a RockStar, instead of working through the difficulties we experienced after the motorcycle wreck in ’11.
Because the mess of the court battle, a rotten crook lawyer, the betrayal of the roofing company he gave 23 years of his sweat & grind and incredible (Roofing God) knowledge & skills to, along with D’s health issues from the wreck & a heart attack from cleaning up yet another DCT mess, my brain trauma after the wreck & the Hella fear he was dying…
I lost the Best Friend I ever had.
This is my Cinderella experience.
Not all details shared.
Maybe TMI…. but it is my Truth. I lived it.
I will Love the Man I married EvaAlways
i first met D when he started dating my friend carole. he was so nice and had a sardontic wit. sometimes you just never knew when he was being serious or funny, kept you on your toes. the last time i saw and spoke with him was at annie z’s funneral, the club escorted her to the cemetary. chatted with him for a bit. just recently became friends on face book and was following his journey. i remember he gave me a ride on his bike and it was so much fun. i was so saddened upon learning that he lost his fight. ride hard, fast, and free.