Lowell Dean Thanepohn

Dean was born on October 3, 1936, to Arthur and Helen (Wollenweber) Thanepohn in Aurora, Illinois. He graduated from Yorkville High School in 1954. He married Marilyn (Beckmann) on May 4, 1957 in Aurora, Illinois.

Dean secured a job out of high school as a cost accountant with Eby-Brown, a wholesale distributor to the convenience store industry. In 1959 he was promoted to salesman – thereby establishing his lifelong career and true gift.

The United States Army drafted Dean during the Korean War. He served from 1961 - 1963 as a sharpshooter and was stationed in Orleans, France. Overseas, he served in the United States Army Band at the Communications Zone (COMZ), European Theater of Operations. As the only European-located Company Bugler, he made 13 bugle calls a day from sunrise to sunset. His overseas post was full of one-of-a-kind experiences – like playing for Charles deGaulle under the Arc de Triomphe, the King and Queen of Belgium, the Shah of Iran and every 5-star General that visited Europe during that time. The love of his life and wife Marilyn joined him in France, and they toured 13 countries and traveled 30,000 miles there – in addition to giving birth to their 1st daughter, Pamela.

Upon returning to the U.S. and leaving the Army, Dean returned to Eby-Brown as a branch manager and grew the Company’s business ten-fold. He remained with Eby-Brown until 1969, when he and Marilyn purchased Yorkville Hardware, located on Bridge Street in downtown Yorkville, Illinois. Dean had worked in the store from 8th grade through high school.

In addition to Yorkville Hardware, Dean and Marilyn owned three other businesses in Yorkville over the course of 30 years. He served as president of the Lion’s Club and the Yorkville School Board and established the Yorkville Chamber of Commerce.

Ever the salesman, Dean also opened a new territory for Sentry Hardware, a wholesale hardware company. The territory covered Illinois, Indiana, & Iowa and required Dean to drive thousands of miles every week. Within two years, he had established it as the #1 sales area in the Company. He was promoted to District Manager, responsible for salesman across five states in the Midwest.

While Dean was on the road, Marilyn ran the hardware store. Together they raised four children – Pamela (Ryan) Kubat of Owatonna, Minnesota, Brenda (Ryan) Christman of Thornton, Colorado, Julie (Jeremy) Jacoby of Thornton, Colorado, and Rodney (Heather) Thanepohn of Las Vegas, Nevada.

Upon “retirement” in 1998 Dean and Marilyn moved several times to be close to family and lived in Las Vegas, NV, Denver, CO, and El Paso, TX – ultimately settling in Thornton, Colorado. During this time, Dean continued to work for various businesses, often in a sales capacity. And he always provided a helping hand and support wherever/whenever needed to his kid’s endeavors and volunteered at church.

In addition to his parents, Dean was predeceased by his brothers Donald Thanepohn and LeRoy (Bud) Thanepohn.

He is survived by his wife - the love of his life of 64 years, his children, six grandchildren, Kate (Kubat) Harthan, Rebecca Kubat, Adam Kubat, Jessica Jacoby, Johanna Jacoby and Helen Christman, and two great-grandchildren (Elin & Liora).

A Celebration of Life Service will be held at Summit of Peace Lutheran Church in Thornton on July 25 at 2:00 PM.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Summit of Peace Lutheran Church. Donations can be made here - https://summitofpeace.org/donate.

The service will be livestreamed. The livestream link is: https://summit-of-peace-lutheran-church.sermoncloud.com/live