“On my honor I will do my best

To do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law;

To help other people at all times;

To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight.”

ROBERTSDALE, Ala. — As a Scoutmaster for Troop 45 in Robertsdale for the last 33 years, those words that make up the Boy Scout Oath are words that Dennis Middleton lived by.

Middleton, who succumbed to cancer May 15 at age 64, spoke passionately about Scouting at a ceremony held May 9 in which the new Troop 45 Lodge was dedicated in his honor.

In an interview, Middleton was asked what Scouting meant to him. He responded simply, “Everything,” adding that just about all of the civic leaders he had ever known were affected positively by the organization.

Middleton’s life was certainly affected positively by his involvement with Scouting.

In the interview, Middleton told how he came, almost by accident, to be involved in Scouting.

He told how he was approached to help with the Troop, but felt at the time he couldn’t devote enough time to the endeavor, so declined the offer.

But when he found out the local branch of the organization would not be able to continue because there was no one to lead them, Middelton agreed to become Scoutmaster until a replacement could be found.

Over 33 years later, his contribution to Troop 45 and others in Baldwin County and beyond was immeasurable.

“Dennis truly was the backbone of Scouting in this area,” said Todd Cason, assistant Scoutmaster for Troop 45. “It’s called Troop 45, Robertsdale, but we serve boys from all over Central Baldwin County. He was a man of his word and he loved Scouting. He loved Scouting and he loved those boys. It didn’t matter whether it had anything to do with Scouting or not. He was always there for them.”

At the dedication ceremony, Cason shared a story of how Middleton came out help fix a well so the Troop could have water for an outing.

After spending all day at Camp Silver Creek working on the problem, Cason said, “He jumped up and said, ‘I’ve got to get home. I have a bunch of people at my house.’”

After inquiring, Cason was told it was Middleton’s birthday and the people were there to celebrate with him.

“He had one of biggest hearts of anyone I ever knew. A lot of people say they are there to help, but Dennis really backed it up,” Cason said. “The fact that it was his birthday that day didn’t matter. It didn’t matter if it was his birthday, Christmas or whatever, he was always there.”

He was owner and operator for the past 40 years of E.L. Middleton and Son Garage in Loxley that his father established in 1944. He also retired as an assistant minister of The First Christian Church of Robertsdale after 30 years of service, where he was a member and worked on The Outreach Minister Program “Life Connection” to help ex offenders.

He held numerous Scouting awards including The Silver Beaver and the Order of the Arrow Vigil Honor. He attended Wood Badge SR 550 and was in the proud “Bob White” Patrol. He was a meber of The Order of the Arrow WOA Cholena Lodge No. 322. In 1989, he recevied the Who’s Who Gulf Coast Award.

“The difference he has made has been immeasurable,” said Tommy Montgomery, who as served as assistant Scoutmaster with Troop 45 since 2000. “He had 17 Eagle Scouts and always worked really hard. The boys always came first and he always let them make the decisions of what they wanted to do and what needed to be done.”

Hundreds, including city and Scout leaders from throughout the area, gathered Friday, May 9 to dedicate the lodge in honor of Middleton. The new 40 by 60 foot facility should be completed by the end of May. All but about $15,000 of the estimated $80,000 to $85,000 in materials to build the facility were donated by 55 local businesses. At Middleton’s request that the lodge not bear his name but have a Native American name, a Scout tradition, the facility will be named Tokanaawa Pahni Lodge which means Camp Silvercreek in Muskeegee Indian.

“Dennis was one of the finest people I’ve ever met,” said Robertsdale Mayor Charles Murphy. “He always tried to help improve the quality of life for the children of this area and his passing is a tragic loss for this community. The world would be a better place if everyone treated one another like Dennis Middleton treated people.”

More than 100 gathered Tuesday at the First Baptist Church of Robertsdale to pay their last respects to Middleton and were asked “not to mourn his death but to celebrate his life and the lives of those he touched.”

He was preceded in death by his father, Ernest L. Middlton.

Survivors include his wife of over 43 years, Jean Middleton of Loxley; two daughters, Sabrina Middleton of Loxley and Beverly Middleton of Fairhope; son, Dennis Wayne Middleton of Loxley; foster son, Allen Kittrell of Silverhill; sister, Mary Sue (David) Archer of Robertsdale; brother, Charles David (Lillie) Middleton of Silverhill; and 13 grandchildren.

“Dennis and Jean have also taken in and raised several foster children over the years,” Cason said. “A lot of these boys came from broken homes and he served as mom and dad to hundreds of boys in this area. I said earlier that he was the backbone of Scouting in this area. We would not be here without him and it was his passion that encouraged us to move forward and continue to grow with the new Scout lodge.”

The family requests memorial donations be made to The Dennis Middleton Benefit Fund at any Regions Bank or The Robertsdale Scouting Association Building Fund, 16914 County Road 52, Silverhill, AL 36576 to help complete the Scout lodge in his memory.

“He was also a huge influence on me personally,” Cason said. “I want to be a Scoutmaster someday because of his influence on my life.”