Denise Jeanne Rising

Denise Rising, better known as Sissy or Sis to family and many friends, passed away on Thursday, April 29th at Sky Lakes Medical Center here in Klamath Falls. She was 56 years old.

Denise was born in Klamath Falls on February 3rd, 1965 to loving parents Frank and Sandra (Clark) Faganello. She attended local area schools and graduated from Mazama High School. Denise attended Oregon State University prior to beginning a career in the insurance field and later pivoting to the medical field where she worked as a medical audit & risk adjustment analyst, and medical coder for over two decades. Denise met Keith Rising in Federal Way, Washington in the mid-eighties and the two were married in Klamath Falls in 1988 at Sacred Heart Catholic Church. They remained here in Klamath Falls and had just celebrated 33 years of marriage at the time of Denise’s passing.

So, who was Denise (aka Sissy) - She was a kind soul with abundant love for family and friends. She had a robust and infectious laugh that was impossible to ignore and even more impossible not to follow. Sis had a way with kids even though she had none of her own. Aunt Sissy was and is a favorite of any child who knew her – family or otherwise. Her no limit trips to the Dollar Store with a carload of nieces and nephews in tow before 4th of July Holidays is the stuff of legend. Sissy loved animals – more specifically she loved German Shepherds. Her love was unconditional even when on more than one occasion her loving pets would eat hundred-dollar holes in the carpet during the day while she was at work… now that is an animal lover for sure! She was the veritable life of the party as most of us can attest at many a New Years Eve celebration. She was a VIP to all of the organizers of any of the wildlife banquets held in the local area as she supported most all of them. But at the same time, she was the dreaded competitor to all of us hoping to win that gun or boat or any item of interest because more often than not there was this unmistakable yell as Sissy held up the winning ticket and took home yet another premium prize! Denise liked to hunt and spent many days in the woods with her dad, brother, nephews, uncles, cousins and extended hunting family members. On a elk hunting trip she hurt her knee and was relegated to being the pickup person at the end of each hunt. After the first couple of haul outs we noticed that there was a pile of empty sunflower seeds at every pickup point so Sis’s radio handle became "Sunflower". Come in Sunflower!! Sunflower come in please! Sis loved playing games and an astounding number of pictures we have of her feature her front and center in whatever game there was to play from Yahtzee to Holdem – there she was right in the thick of it. Sissy was special and anyone who knew her knows that is a true statement. We lost a bit of our supply of happiness in the world when she left us. We miss you Sunflower and will always cherish the love you shared with us and the memories we have of you.

Denise is survived by her husband of 33 years – Keith Rising. She is also survived by her parents Frank and Sandra Faganello, her brother Jeff Faganello and wife Carroll, nephew Franklin Jefferey Faganello and grandnephew Austin J Faganello, nephew Conrad J. Hughes-Faganello & Stephanie Buxton, niece Valerie Miller and husband Josh with great nephew Tristan Faganello & Michael Miller. Further surviving family members are sister Jenny Kerns and husband Lyndon, niece Breanna Haddock and husband Josh, great niece Ruby, niece Brittany Skutt and

husband Clinton, great nephew Junior Skutt. Surviving uncle Ronald and aunt Lorraine Faganello, cousin Tonie Kellom and husband John, niece Lynndsi Ray and husband Link, great nephews Carson and Cooper Ray, Cousin Tammy Ahalt and husband Mark, great nephew Leo Ahalt. Surviving uncles Barry Faganello and Pete Mongan. Cousins Rhonda Welch and husband Chris, nephew Thomas, Cousin Rodney Clark and wife Renee, nephews David and Cameron. There are numerous friends and family members that should be mentioned here but for the sake of brevity and at the risk of missing any names suffice it to say the extended family is large and diverse and all were loved by Denise.

As we said earlier Denise had a great love for pets most specifically dogs and she had a passion for hunting and shooting sports. As a result in lieu of flowers we ask that you consider making a donation in Denise’s name to the Mule Deer Foundation – Conservation Partnership c/o Ken Hand, 4716 Driftwood Dr, Klamath Falls, OR 97603, or the Klamath Community Foundation which is a 501c(3) Nonprofit organization at the Klamath Animal Shelter

http://www.klamathanimalshelter.org/fund-at-klamath-community-foundation/ Or donate to your favorite charity organization in Denise’s name.

In this era of COVID-19 we have elected not to have a face-to-face memorial service at this time. Instead, we invite you to add your photos of Denise to DJ Hurricane’s Google Photo Album for Sissy (Denise). We also hope you will add to the story of Denise’s life by posting on Denise’s Facebook page so that your portion of the story of her life is added for all of us to share. In that way the story is never ending and the moments you remember with her are available for all of us to see and enjoy.

We miss you Sissy - we will never forget you!