Dean Arnold Sturdivant

He was born to Frank Fielding Sturdivant and Erma Belle Fales on July 4, 1929, in Edgemont, South Dakota. In 1949, he graduated from Igloo High School in Igloo, South Dakota, where he was a star athlete in both track and as a running back in football. On May 28th of 1949, he married the love of his life, Anna Lucille Sheets Lynn.

Dean grew up on a ranch, and was proficient in all aspects of ranching. He first supported his new family as a bareback bronc rider in rodeos all across the mountain west, and later, went out into the oilfields to work as a driller. From the oilfields he went on to work on big construction projects like dams, bridges, and highways. In 1963, he moved his family to Centralia to be closer to his next assignment- the Mossyrock Dam. He retired from his last career, after twenty years as a ‘powder monkey,’ better known by the term ‘explosives engineer.’

Dean was a member of the Masons and the NRA, and was a lifetime member of the International Laborers Union. He was an avid card player, enjoying many a game of bridge, poker, and his favorite, cribbage. He had a wonderful voice; he loved to yodel and often sang as part of a choir or as a soloist. He was also an able ‘water witch,’ helping many folks in Wyoming and Washington locate hidden water sources.

He and Lucille chose to spend their retirement years as goat ranchers in the small town of Orin, Wyoming, but returned to Centralia in 2015 to be closer to their family.

Dean is preceded in death by a son, Dean A. Sturdivant, Jr; daughter, DeeAnn Sturdivant; and a grandson, Jaison Dean Sturdivant.

He is survived by his loving wife, Lucille Sturdivant of Centralia; daughter Linda (Kelly) Grubbs of Lacey; and sons, Richard C. Sturdivant of Centralia, and Robert L. (Julie) Sturdivant of Boistfort; 13 grandchildren; 21 great- grandchildren; sisters Wyoma Honadel of Wyoming, Iva Belle Honadel of Wyoming, Dorothy (Alfred) Honadel of South Dakota, and Bonnie (Ralph) Crowley of Colorado; as well as a brother Larry Sturdivant of Colorado.

Visitation may be made between the hours of 4 to 7 p.m., Friday, March 3, 2017, at Sticklin Funeral Chapel in Centralia. A funeral for Dean Sturdivant is scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m., Saturday, March 4, 2017, also at Sticklin Funeral Chapel, with interment immediately following at Claquato Cemetery in Chehalis, followed by a reception in the Sticklin Hospitality Room.