Iliase Dean Bayan

Bhardin Bayan or Iliase Dean Bayan was born in Harar, Ethiopia and was the eldest man of his family. Although his name is Iliase, his loved ones referred to him as Dean. He was raised as a Muslim and was working and helping at his families business. When the civil war began in Ethiopia, Dean went as a refugee at 16 to Djibouti. The following year, at 17, he traveled to Saudi Arabia and got a full scholarship to attend an Islamic University. Later he went to Egypt where he applied to immigrate to the United States; Dean came to America when he was 21, to start his new life. When he was 23, Dean accepted Jesus Christ as his Savior and his life has never been the same since. When Dean turned 31, he married Saba Marcos and he became the father of four children: Alpha, Elroil, Jacobed and Paulos. Dean and Saba shared the same vision for the Lord and have been married for 31 years.

Dean was a part of many ministries and works that made him respected and loved by many people. Many considered him to be not only a spiritual father, but an actual father figure that showed the love of Christ. He graduated from Bible college at 38 because he knew he wanted to give his whole life to the Lord; which he did. With his wife Saba they opened the first children’s library and founded 3 schools in different parts of Ethiopia. Dean has written over 40 books that all talk about Jesus and the goodness of God. He also built with his wife, Agape Mobility Ethiopia; a non-for profit organization that provides free wheelchairs to people all around Ethiopia. In recent years, Dean started a prison ministry in rural areas of Ethiopia so people can hear the gospel; particularly Muslim people. All of these works were done in the name of Jesus and to spread the gospel to the world. For the first time in 12 years, he was able to go back to Ethiopia from February 2023-April 2023 to see the fruit of his works, serve the Lord and see loved ones.

Dean was diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer on July 1, 2022 and went to be with the Lord on June 4th, 2023. He lived much longer than expected, and enjoyed his final months serving the Lord and spending time with his family. Despite his diagnosis, his spirit was never weak and daily spoke about the goodness of Jesus. He prayed daily and blessed every person that came to see him. Dean never once blamed God and gave glory to His name until his final breath.

We are so grateful that we were able to meet Dean in this lifetime. He will be incredibly missed. However, we rejoice because he finally received his biggest wish; to be in paradise with Jesus Christ forever. As his family, we will continue to navigate life in his absence in the name of Jesus and serve Him; just as Dean did.

Funeral Service is 11:00 am, Tuesday, June 13 at Fellowship Missionary Church, 2536 E Tillman Rd, Fort Wayne, with calling one hour prior; all white attire requested. Interment at Highland Park Cemetery & Mausoleum. Reception to follow at The Ridge Church, 6424 St Joe Rd, Fort Wayne.