About Denis

Denis Raymond Tougas was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1951; the second son of ten children, born to Louis and Pauline Tougas of French-Canadian heritage. When Denis was five, the family moved to an old Dutch colonial farm house on the banks of the Trenton channel in Grosse Ile, Michigan to be closer to his father’s work as an engineer on large freighters. Denis helped work on rental homes to support the growing family and spent his precious free-time sailing and boating on the Detroit River; often times as the captain of a small 14 foot speed boat he fixed up with his siblings for water skiing.

Denis attended grammar school at Sacred Heart and high school on the island of Grosse Ile, a small island community, graduating in 1969. He earned the distinction of being the youngest engineer’s assistant on the Great Lakes at the age of 17 and continued to sail for a year working in the engine room and saving enough money to attend college. He attended community college and his original intention was to become an English teacher but ended up pursuing engineering instead.

Graduating from college in 1974, Denis took a job as a field technician for a firm doing inspections on nuclear reactors. He traveled extensively with his job, and it was during this time, that he married Mary Mruzek in January of 1975, a nurse. They met through a mutual friend and the relationship lasted for over forty years until she passed from cancer. Together they had two children and three grandchildren whom are still with us today. Their son is an accomplished international 747 pilot and their daughter works for a distinguished advertising firm and has her MBA.

After his marriage in 1975, Denis was accepted to a dental college but was unable to attend due to financial considerations. He sacrificed for his family and spent the next eleven years working as a second-class stationary engineer for McLouth Steel while rehabilitating old homes on the side. After McLouth filed for bankruptcy, he accepted another stationary engineer’s position at General Motors working there for thirty years until his retirement and earning his unlimited first-class license and numerous awards during his tenure for innovation. This position took him all over the country; a “GM gypsy” in its truest form, as it required several moves from Michigan to Georgia, Louisiana, and finally Tennessee. The job allowed him the ability to see many facets of the country and it was during these years that he traveled extensively, not only in the USA, but around the world first to the Caribbean, then Latin America, Europe, New Zealand and finally to Australia.

Australia captured Denis' heart and he visited numerous times, it was serendipitous thus, that during these times he met and kept a friendship with an renowned Australian artist, Raewyn Anne Roberts. He later fell in love and married Raewyn after his first wife passed in 2019. They currently spend their time between their homes in South Carolina and Cairns Australia.

As for writing, it was during his time at GM that Denis also began to write in earnest after being challenged by his best friend John, a Scottish artist whose friendship will never be forgotten. Denis’ first story was a fifty-page short story that so impressed John and his family, that they further pushed him to write an entire book. All this rekindled Denis’ love of English and started his new passion for writing. Having finished four books and having several others at various stages of completion, Denis enters the writing world with hi first published novel, "The Feast of Angels"; it is dedicated to his deceased friend John.

Denis is an avid reader like most of his fans, and enjoys most genres of literature. Authors like Stephen King, Nathanial Philbrick, Tom Clancy, Dan Brown, and Tom Keneally are some of his favorite writers; with a special leaning towards novelists, the likes of Charles Dickens, Peter Ackroyd, and James Mitchener.

In retirement, Denis now volunteers with Habitat for Humanity in Greenwood, S.C. having years of experience remodeling homes. He also loves playing cards, beating his family mercilessly at Scrabble, and his time on the lake as a captain again; this time pulling the grand-kids with his pontoon boat while they tube. Most of all, Denis enjoys the art his new wife creates for audiences the world-over, as well as meeting and learning from new friends in his travels.

Listen to Denis' Interview with CBS Radio on YouTube!