my neighbor:
Chester Arthur Dean, 96, passed away Tuesday, May 5, 2009, in Fayetteville.
A memorial service will be held at 11:30 a.m. Saturday at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Fayetteville.
Mr. Dean was born in Lewisville on Oct. 15, 1912, to Arthur and Gertrude Dean. The family moved to Texarkana, where Chester graduated from Texarkana High School. He attended the University of Arkansas between 1930 and 1934, where he was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon and majored in engineering. In 1935 he married Marian Elizabeth Buxton of Joplin, Mo. She preceded him in death in 1999 after 64 years of marriage.
Mr. Dean began his service in the U.S. Army attached to the Civilian Conservation Corps’ forestry program near Cass. He became a commissioned officer in the Army with the Quartermasters Corps. He later transferred and served with the Corps of Engineers during and after World War II, eventually attaining the rank of lieutenant colonel. Upon leaving the Army, Mr. Dean obtained his professional engineer’s license in Florida and became city engineer for the city of Clearwater. The experience gained in service to the Army engineers became the fulfillment of a lifelong dream as a builder, and in 1949 Mr. Dean left Florida to join the Hiram S. Elliot Construction Co. in Kansas City. In 1954, Mr. Dean founded the Chester A. Dean Construction Co. in Kansas City. In 1976, Donald R. Pearce joined the company, and they eventually formed Dean-Pearce Construction Co., which now operates as Pearce Construction Co. in Kansas City.
During his career in Kansas City, Mr. Dean held several official posts and memberships with the Associated General Contractors of America and the Builders Association-Kansas City chapter. He was a licensed professional engineer registered in Florida, Missouri and Kansas. He served as the planning director of the city of Prairie Village during the administration of Mayor Robert Bennett. He also was a director of the Missouri Bank and Trust Co.
After selling his construction company and retiring, in 1980 Mr. Dean moved to Fayetteville, continuing to take an active role as a consultant in the construction business, even into his 90s.
Mr. Dean was a licensed pilot, an avid golfer, a member of the Fayetteville Country Club and enjoyed hobbies in stained glasswork, woodworking, painting and model railroading. Mr. and Mrs. Dean’s love of travel took them all over the world, from China to New Zealand.
Mr. Dean is survived by daughter Jane D. McMaster and husband Lee of Wichita, Kan.; son Arthur B. “Buck” Dean and wife Deborah of Jacksonville, Fla.; granddaughters, Margaret M. Caccia and husband Ralph of Potomac Falls, Va., Kathryn M. Kraske and husband Steve of Westwood, Texas, Sarah M. Helbig and husband Chris of Goldsboro, N.C.; and grandson, Geoffrey A. Ballentine and wife Theresa of Phoenix. Great-grandchildren include Elizabeth and Joseph Caccia, Nicholas and Michael Kraske, and Evan, Elyse and Finnian Helbig. He is also survived by sister-in-law Jane B. Robbins of Houston.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests a donation to the Northwest Arkansas Children’s Shelter in Bentonville.
