Denise has been a War Widow since 1995. She served on War Widows council for 10 years, and during her time on the council she served as their representative on the Council for Women for two years, as well as their representative on the Consumer Cancer Screening Board at Queensland Health for three years.
Denise spent five years with St Vincents De Paul resettling refugees mainly from Sudan. She found this challenging but also rewarding when she saw the progress that was being made, especially with the children being able to speak some English.
In 2013 Denise was awarded the Lilly Australia Day Medal for her work within my community, this also included her work with Legacy, War Widows and the local church as Parish Councillor and Fete convenor.
In 2011 Denise took over as Convenor with Brisbane North War Widows group, which she still remains as Convenor with the group.
In 2018 Denise was awarded an Order of Australia medal for her work within the community, especially with the Veterans through War Widows and Legacy.