Major William Robert
Dean
August 8, 1935 - May 26, 2022
A warrior passed from among us late on Thursday evening, May 26th. Major William Robert Dean, US Army Ret. died at North Alabama Medical Center after a brief illness. He was born on August 8, 1935. He was graduate of Coffee High School.
Bill Dean’s life was one of dedication and service: service to his Lord, his family, the United States of America and his countless students. He served Killen Church of Christ as a deacon, helping initiate a prison ministry that has taught Bible classes in area prisons for years,
Bill was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Army after graduation from Florence State Teachers College.
Following a tour of duty in Korea, and two tours in Vietnam, Bill crowned his military career as a Ranger with a stint of teaching military science at Eastern Tennessee State. While in the Special Forces, among many awards and medals, he earned the Expert Infantry Badge, the Combat Infantryman Badge and the Senior Parachute Badge and the Bronze Star. Retiring in 1972 Bill returned to his hometown of Killen to begin a career of 30 plus years of service in public education, teaching geography and history at Brooks High School. He added to his BS in education and history at the University of North Alabama and his master’s degree from Eastern Tennessee State University, by taking a sabbatical year at the University of Alabama to study school administration.
Bill was a true scholar who reveled in reading, study, and travel. He taught Bible lessons in the Pacific Rim. He studied boat construction in New England, attaining his captain’s license in sailing after taking many groups of students on sailing expeditions in the Caribbean. He preached for a number of years at Five Points Church of Christ.
Bill Dean was the son of the late Fred and Val Dean of Killen. His grandparents were the late John and Carrie Muse and the late Charlie Mac and Martha Wesson Dean. Bill and his wife Marilyn Campbell Dean married in 1959. They had three children: Dorian Dean Irby who predeceased her parents, Daphne Stratford and her husband Charles, and Robert Dean and his wife, Kimberly McWilliams Dean. Additionally, they had two grandchildren, Stephanie Stratford Cochrane and husband Matt, and Chase Stratford and wife Addie. Charles “Roland” Stratford IV is a great grandchild with Cole Cochrane being a much-anticipated great grandson
After his family, Bill Dean’s great loves were his fellow Christians, his period of military service, and his history students at Brooks School. He has spent the last several years as a Bible teacher and an in-depth researcher in church history, always eager to share all that he learned.
Services for Bill Dean will be at the Killen Church of Christ on Sunday May 29th at 2:00 p.m. Visitation for friends will precede the service at Killen on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. Interment will be in the Tri Cities Memorial Gardens on Sunday. Williams Funeral Home will be directing. Pallbearers are Craig Brooks, Brad Brooks, Joe Quillen, Chase Stratford, Jerry Mitchell and Doyle McDonald. Honorary bearers are Harold Payne and Jerry Dean.
Visitation
May 29, 2022
1:00 pm
Killen Church of Christ, Highway 72, Killen, AL 35645
Funeral
May 29, 2022
2:00 pm
Killen Church of Christ, Burial to follow at Tri-Cities Memorial Gardens
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15 Comments on “Major William Robert Dean”
Mr. Dean followed my class through high school at Brooks, so I had him for history 5 years. He, to this day, would call me by name and ask about my parents, who he also taught, by name. Precious man.
Mr. Dean was a very interesting teacher that made a point to teach history, economics and yes geography. I’m thankful I had him as a teacher and later as a friend working at the school. Every time I seen him he asked about my children and my mom. He will be missed by many because he did influence a lot of individuals with his passion of teaching. Prayers for the family.
Condolences to the family. Mr Dean had such a great impact on all his students.
Thank you Mr. Dean for teaching us history. You made it interesting and to this day I enjoy reading all subjects of history. You will be missed but not forgotten. My thoughts and prayers to Rob Dean and his family.
Rest In Peace, Mr Dean. You led many to know Christ and the history lessons you taught will stay with many for years to come.
Prayers of comfort to Mrs Dean and family
He left a beautiful mark on the hearts of so many of us. I was blessed to be one of his students, and will always remember him with fondness. Condolences to the family of a great man.
He was always a friend and loved helping everyone. I will truly miss him…He was one of the most important mentor I had growing up.
Mr. Dean was one of a kind! I truly enjoyed knowing him as a teacher and a man. We could all do far worse for role models. He was a great American, there is little praise better than that or a Man of God. He was both. I salute you sir, one of Killen’s finest. I also understand he was Boy Scout Troop 53’s first Eagle Scout.
My condolences and prayers to the Dean family. It’s a joy to have experienced his wit, his excellent teaching skills, and his exuberant energy of life. If you told him you didn’t know an answer to his question, he would say, you do and wait for you to answer. And wait. And wait until you did. If you said “ I can’t “, he’ll ask “Why not” and say, Yes you can! He would not let you slide! He could be a comedian too! He could be so funny! Truly blessed to have been in his path of life!
I am so sad to hear of Mr. Dean passing. He was my favorite teacher at Brooks High School. He had a true passion for History and teaching his students. For his Government and Econ class there was the added surprise of Geography. He always made it interesting. He was one of a kind and was always smiling. Even many years after graduating he recognized his students and doted on his wife. He was truly one of a kind and will be greatly missed.
Mr. Dean was such an inspiration to me when I was in high school. He taught me to love history and geography. I enjoyed the map tests and sat enthralled when he would tell his war stories. Mr. Dean was a legend, and he will surely be missed. God bless him and his family during this difficult time.
My sincere condolences to Mr. Deans family, he was one of my favorite teachers at Brooks, I had him for US History, Latin 1 & 2. My favorite time was when he took the Latin class to see the Parthenon in Nashville, but we didn’t know until we got there that is was closed on Monday. Mr. Dean called a friend at Vanderbilt, and we toured the campus, had lunch and came back to Killen. His classes are some of my best memories of high school.
It was our pleasure to know Bill in ILR. We learned a lot from him and will miss him. Our condolences to Marylin and the family..