Obituary of Ronald Dean

DEAN RONALD

Ronald Jesse Dean, age 76 of Mill Creek, PA, passed away at Geisinger-Lewistown Hospital, Lewistown, PA.  Funeral services will be 11:00 AM, Friday, May 19, 2023 at the Opsahl-Kostel Funeral Chapel, Yankton, SD with Rev. Steve Weispfennig officiating from St. John’s Lutheran Church.  Burial at approximately 1:30 PM, Friday afternoon at the Menno Cemetery, Menno, SD.  Visitations are one hour prior to the service at the church.  Online condolences may be sent at:  www.opsahl-kostelfuneralhome.com.  Live streaming of Ron’s service may be found at:  https://my.gather.app/remember/ronald-dean-2023. 

Ronald Jesse Dean was born on November 6, 1946 in Freeman, SD to Jesse and Cecelia (Fischer) Dean.  Moments later, he was joined by his identical twin brother Donald E. Dean.  Ron and Don remained very close brothers who worked together as carpenters.  Traveling around the country, where the work would take them and experiencing many places including Hawaii where he met his wife, Paula.  They moved to North Carolina where he worked with his brothers, Richard and Donald, as finishing carpenters.  Ron was a founding member of Pleasant Plains Community Church, Lillington, NC in 1999.  He worked side by side with the pastor to help construct the new church building.  Ron purchased a home in June of 2004 in Fuquay Varina, North Carolina where he and his wife, Paula, resided.  He was a member of the VFW and American Legion.

After Paula’s death, Ron purchased a home in Centerville, SD in 2007; a few doors down from his mother, Cecelia, which allowed them to spend much time together.  In 2016, he moved to Mill Creek, PA where he purchased a modest home and continued his carpentry work and enjoyed the great outdoors, fishing, and golfing, into his retirement.  Ron used his skill in woodworking to craft cutting boards and porch swings to sell at the local flea market in Belleville, PA.   

Ronald is survived by his daughter, Kerry; 2 grandsons, Nicholas & Andrew; 2 great grandsons, Benjamin & Matthew; eldest brother, Richard; youngest brother, Dennis; and mother, Cecelia.

Ronald was predeceased by his wife Paula; twin brother Donald; and father, Jesse.