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March 3, 2018

UPDATED OBITUARY: Father John T. Dean

REGIONAL

(Editor’s note: This obituary has been updated to include wake and funeral times along with information provided by the family.)

SPRINGFIELD – Father John T. Dean, 83, a longtime campus Catholic chaplain at Westfield State University, passed away in Virginia on Feb. 24.

A native of Holyoke, he was born on Sept. 15, 1934. One of three sons born to the late Mary Cecile (Fitzsimmons) Dean and William Joseph Dean, Sr.

He graduated from Holyoke High School. He studied classics at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, Boston College and St. John Seminary. He earned a bachelor of arts degree from Boston College in 1957 and a master of education degree, also from Boston College, in 1958.

He completed the General Electric Fellowship in Economics at Union College in New York and the Sumner Fellowship at Syracuse University.  He traveled across the country and spent a year in Berkeley, California completing the John Hay Fellowship.

Prior to pursuing the priesthood, Father Dean taught history at South Hadley High, before moving on to teach at Holyoke High School, where he served as chairman of the History Department, teaching there from 1958 to 1967.

In 1967 he entered Pope John XXIII Seminary in Weston, Mass., completing studies there in 1972. He was ordained to the priesthood on Feb. 5, 1972 at Sacred Heart Parish in Holyoke by Bishop Christopher J. Weldon and returned to Pope John XXIII for a pastoral internship. During that time, he completed further education and received a certificate in alcoholic studies from Rutgers University. He also served at the Pine Street Shelter in Boston before returning to the Diocese of Springfield.

Father Dean first served as an assistant at St. Theresa of Lisieux Parish in South Hadley from 1972-75 during which time he also was chaplain at nearby Mount Holyoke College. He went on to minister at Holy Cross Church in Springfield in 1979. He served as chaplain and a member of the faculty at Our Lady of the Elms College in Chicopee and as chaplain at Mercy Hospital in Springfield, before becoming campus minister at Westfield State College in 1979.

For the next 27 years he would become legendary on the Westfield campus for his ever-present cheerfulness and presence, providing pastoral care for Catholics and non-Catholics alike. He was well-known for providing pizzas to the dorms and less known for his quiet and humble generosity, purchasing dress coats or shoes if a student needed something for a special dance or interview, and buying school supplies for those who could not afford them. He was often heard across campus bellowing his signature call “Yo,” beckoning one and all to come, share a riddle, talk and share community. Above all he gave students his most precious gift: his time. Through humor, compassion and empathy, he engaged the student body. When he retired on Sept. 1, 2005, students rallied and were successful in having the dining commons named in his honor.

He also served on the Diocesan Vocation Advisory Committee in 1984 and 1985. For many years after his retirement, he continued to assist with campus ministry at Westfield State University, as well as helping out at St. Jerome Parish, Holyoke.

In recent years he took up residence in Virginia with his beloved niece, Carolyn Dean, her husband, Lonny Green and their 6 children- Galen, Stenzler, Thomas, Knaide, Quinn and Mannix. 

In one of his final public appearances he was able to attend his 65th high school reunion in 2017.

The family wishes to gratefully acknowledge the outpouring of love and support which came in phone calls, text messages, emails and through regular mail from the Westfield State community past and present who never forgot Father Dean during his retirement and illness.

Father John Dean is survived by his brother Dr. William Dean Jr.; his sister-in-law, Jean (Chapdelaine) Dean; sisters-in-law, Janet O’ Connor and Dolores Dowd-Dean; in addition to his many nieces and nephews: Patricia Hall and her husband, Rocky, Paul Dean and his wife, Dr. Susan Kelly, Sheila (Broderick) Dean, Julie Olsson and her husband, Bengt, Mary-Jude Dean and her husband, Sheldon Rosenberg, Dr. Philip J. Dean II and his wife, Mary Dean, Thomas Dean and his wife, Theresa Dean, Dr. Anne V. Dean,  Margaret Gross and her husband, Jerome Gross, Elizabeth Dean, Catherine Dodge and her husband, Michael Dodge, Carolyn Dean and her husband, Dr. Lonny Green; and many great nieces and nephews. 

He is preceded in death by his brother, Dr. Philip John Dean; nephews, Dr. William J. Dean III and John P. Dean.

His family wants to thank the Glen Allen and Henrico community for being so welcoming and generous in spirit to their uncle and who went out of their way to welcome and love Father Dean.

The wake for Father Dean will be held on Friday, March 9 in St. Patrick’s Chapel, adjacent to St. Jerome Church, Holyoke, from 4 to 7p.m., concluding with a vigil service. The Liturgy of Christian Burial will be held on Saturday, March 10 at 10 a.m. at St. Jerome Church, Holyoke.

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