What beautiful paintings! Dean had so many gifts and talents, one of which was making people smile. I NEVER met anyone that didn't like Dean. He contributed so many fun memories to our class of 74. Our class would not have been as special as it was had it not been for Deannie. He was one of kind and will be missed by all who knew him, myself included!
Dean always sat either right next to me or close by in home room from junior high through high school, and I don't think I've ever met anyone who had such an engaging personality. I loved it when he'd do imitations of people, always funny without being mean. I worked at the Radewald Farm one summer during college and Dean and I always stood across from each other or next to each other in the barn where we sorted tomatoes and packed strawberries. Well, at least we did until management separated us because we were having too much fun joking around. I still remember when I got the phone call telling me of his death. I simply could not talk. I sank to the floor and cried for about two hours. One of the stars in my sky winked out that day. I'm sorry for everyone who never got to know Dean. Your lives would have been so much richer. I know mine is.
I had the wonderful opportunity to work "on the farm" one summer with Dean. He was a very special human being. There is absolutely no one who could make me laugh like he did! One of my fondest memories was when we were working on the "strawberry line" and he had an Aunt, I believe, named Virginia. She would get on us for cutting up and not paying attention to the strawberries... There was a song out at the time with a line in it that went "Virginia, touch me like you do" - one of us would start singing that and we laughed so hard we almost fell on the floor!!! This world would be a better place if he were still here with us...
I first met 'Dean with the twinkling eyes' in 2nd grade when my family moved to Niles. I attended Fairland School for part of the year. Dean soon became my "boyfriend" along with several other classmates. We had to share Dean because he was so adored by many. During recess we used to make houses out of the dried-up grass that had been cut days before. I left Fairland to attend St. Mary's but was able to remain friends via 4-H with Dean and his wonderful family, and they all were wonderful. His mom, Barb, was my very favorite 4-H leader. ...nothing against Aunt Virginia but she kept making me take out the zippers when I accidiently had sewn them in upsidedown - I still don't get why she made such a big deal about it! Dean had Barb's sparkly eyes and the unconditional love for life. Barb made 4-H so much fun and I felt her happiness project through Dean during the rest of our Niles school days. Dean's short life on our planet definitely made this a better place to live.
Thanks Diane for sharing such wonderful paintings. They bring back so many memories. All of our lives are richer and fuller because we knew Dean. He brought out the best in all of us. He loved us unconditionally as we loved him. I too cried for days when I heard of his passing. There is a part of me that will always be missing..
OH MY GOSH! What a hoot! Dean was a riot. I'll never forget the time at college when Dean rode his NEW bike over to the dorm. He said "Hey want to take a ride"...I said sure so we took off around beautiful Lansing. Well we stopped for something, chained our bikes up and when we came back some JERK backed over Dean's NEW bike! I have never (or ever will) see an expression like the one he had on his face when he saw that bike. What a day...the poor bike was crushed and so was Dean. I will never forget that day!
Dean was one of those human beings that conncted with everyone-such a rare gift. I always envied his ability to be exactly who he was no matter where he was. Class clown and class friend. Remember his comment after he was crowned honecoming king: "The crown's too big for me, but I'll grow into it" !! That quick wit was one of his many gifts. We were blessed to have him. Betsy
Suellen Etzcorn (Foster)
What beautiful paintings! Dean had so many gifts and talents, one of which was making people smile. I NEVER met anyone that didn't like Dean. He contributed so many fun memories to our class of 74. Our class would not have been as special as it was had it not been for Deannie. He was one of kind and will be missed by all who knew him, myself included!Tracy Reed
Dean always sat either right next to me or close by in home room from junior high through high school, and I don't think I've ever met anyone who had such an engaging personality. I loved it when he'd do imitations of people, always funny without being mean. I worked at the Radewald Farm one summer during college and Dean and I always stood across from each other or next to each other in the barn where we sorted tomatoes and packed strawberries. Well, at least we did until management separated us because we were having too much fun joking around. I still remember when I got the phone call telling me of his death. I simply could not talk. I sank to the floor and cried for about two hours. One of the stars in my sky winked out that day. I'm sorry for everyone who never got to know Dean. Your lives would have been so much richer. I know mine is.Tracy Reed
Sandy Barker
I had the wonderful opportunity to work "on the farm" one summer with Dean. He was a very special human being. There is absolutely no one who could make me laugh like he did! One of my fondest memories was when we were working on the "strawberry line" and he had an Aunt, I believe, named Virginia. She would get on us for cutting up and not paying attention to the strawberries... There was a song out at the time with a line in it that went "Virginia, touch me like you do" - one of us would start singing that and we laughed so hard we almost fell on the floor!!! This world would be a better place if he were still here with us...Cheryl Frame (Malinowski)
I first met 'Dean with the twinkling eyes' in 2nd grade when my family moved to Niles. I attended Fairland School for part of the year. Dean soon became my "boyfriend" along with several other classmates. We had to share Dean because he was so adored by many. During recess we used to make houses out of the dried-up grass that had been cut days before. I left Fairland to attend St. Mary's but was able to remain friends via 4-H with Dean and his wonderful family, and they all were wonderful. His mom, Barb, was my very favorite 4-H leader. ...nothing against Aunt Virginia but she kept making me take out the zippers when I accidiently had sewn them in upsidedown - I still don't get why she made such a big deal about it! Dean had Barb's sparkly eyes and the unconditional love for life. Barb made 4-H so much fun and I felt her happiness project through Dean during the rest of our Niles school days. Dean's short life on our planet definitely made this a better place to live.Beverly Finney (Geist)
Thanks Diane for sharing such wonderful paintings. They bring back so many memories. All of our lives are richer and fuller because we knew Dean. He brought out the best in all of us. He loved us unconditionally as we loved him. I too cried for days when I heard of his passing. There is a part of me that will always be missing..Tom Grathwohl
Great tribute to Dean ... Great Guy and a GREAT family!TJG
Lynn Bassler (Porter)
OH MY GOSH! What a hoot! Dean was a riot. I'll never forget the time at college when Dean rode his NEW bike over to the dorm. He said "Hey want to take a ride"...I said sure so we took off around beautiful Lansing. Well we stopped for something, chained our bikes up and when we came back some JERK backed over Dean's NEW bike! I have never (or ever will) see an expression like the one he had on his face when he saw that bike. What a day...the poor bike was crushed and so was Dean. I will never forget that day!Betsy Jenkins (Hasegawa)
Dean was one of those human beings that conncted with everyone-such a rare gift. I always envied his ability to be exactly who he was no matter where he was. Class clown and class friend. Remember his comment after he was crowned honecoming king: "The crown's too big for me, but I'll grow into it" !! That quick wit was one of his many gifts. We were blessed to have him.Betsy
Steve Merica
Dean and I were opposites in many ways except friendship, How could anyone not like him!!Susan Botts (Flowers--Class Of '75)
Dean S Radewald (soter)Birth: 1956
Death: 1987
Burial:
Silverbrook Cemetery
Niles
Berrien County. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=60347442&ref=acom
Michigan, USA