Patricia Mae Dean

Patricia Mae Pugh Dean passed away on November 11, 2025 in Marysville, Washington. She lived most of her life in Everett, Arlington and Marysville. Pat was born in Wausa, Nebraska on September 24, 1933 to Ralph and Maxine Pugh. She is preceded in death by her parents and her brother, Ralph Jr., as well as her beloved husband, Jack. Pat is survived by her children and their spouses, Ken and Laurie Dean of Raleigh, North Carolina; Sharon and Mark Milan of Marysville, Washington; and Jody and Byron Abrigg of Canfield, Ohio. She also had eight grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

As a child, Pat moved with her family across Washington state. Her parents were both educators - Maxine teaching elementary school and Ralph serving as school principal and superintendent. During her high school years, Pat played six-on-six basketball. At the time, girls could only play half of the court, as they were deemed too "fragile" to run the entire floor. In the summers, she and her father would travel across the country to pick up new school buses for the schools and each would drive one back to Washington. Pat also learned fly-fishing from her father and brother, and sewing from her mother.

Pat met her future husband, Jack Dean, when both attended pharmacy school at the State College of Washington (now Washington State University). They married on July 8, 1956 in Kettle Falls, Washington, prior to Jack joining the army and being deployed to Berlin, Germany as a pharmacist in an army hospital.

In her professional life, Pat worked as a pharmacist. She primarily worked at Everett General Hospital and Hilton's Pharmacy in Marysville. Pat also worked at Hall's Pharmacy, Younguist Pharmacy and Kusler's. She was often "on call" for various stores when they were short a pharmacist. She enjoyed those occasional times when she and Jack got to work side by side at one of the local stores. For the rest of her life, Pat would encounter former customers from Hilton's, who always remembered her fondly.

Outside of work, Pat and Jack lived a full life together. Theirs was a life of love, family, service, work and love. They made a point of attending every event that their children were involved in. As a family, Pat and Jack enjoyed camping in their Terry travel trailer. Shortly after Jody was born, the family took a summer and traveled across the country to visit some of Pat's relatives in Chicago. They then returned to Washington via the trans-Canada highway. Many summers were spent camping at both Westport, Washington and at their property on Lake Goodwin. Ken, Sharon and Jody all remember learning to play cribbage on those trips, watching their parents play game after game after game as the days wound down.

Pat was an active bowler for many years. In college, one of her first jobs was at the campus bowling alley, where she was a "pin setter", standing the pins back up after a bowler would complete a frame. She participated in a league at Evergreen Lanes for over 40 years. And in her later years, she helped organize a Wii bowling league for the residents at The Gardens in Marysville.

Pat was an active member of the Order of the Eastern Star for more than 70 years, proudly filling the majority of the chairs, (some more than once) including Worthy Matron & Grand Representative to Georgia while involved in the Everett Chapter. She also enjoyed sharing her time and talents in Marysville, Arlington, Stanwood, Granite Falls. Pat filled in whenever she could be of service.

Sewing was a lifetime passion of Pat's, which she passed along to her daughter, Sharon. No project was too small. From clothing for the family and friends, to stuffed animals, to toys... no challenge was too great. Pat created two beautiful wedding dresses during her life, as well as many formal gowns for Eastern Star members. She was gifted a mink coat that a friend could no longer use and made mink teddy bears from it. Pat sewed many costumes for school plays at Cascade High School. She even made over 20 full-sized soccer balls for her granddaughter's soccer team.

After the kids were grown, Pat and Jack enjoyed annual trips to Reno, where he played blackjack and she played Keno. Later, those casino visits moved to the Angel of the Winds Casino when they retired to Arlington.

The overall message of Pat's life was that is was one of love and service. Those who knew her were touched by her generosity in many ways. Jody recalls Mom making hundreds of batches of peanut brittle over the years, which would be donated to doctors and postal workers at the holidays. Sharon remembers her Mom and Dad purchasing a new appliance for a caretaker who couldn't afford one herself, and secretly driving it to her home and leaving it on her porch. Ken will never forget the countless teddy bears that Mom made for the Snohomish County sheriffs to carry in their cruisers so they'd have them on calls where young children might be in a sad situation. Her teddy bears were also provided to cancer patients at Providence Hospital - many were the nights when Jack would come home with the story of a child being admitted, and Pat would stay up after everyone was in bed so that he could take in a bear for that child the next day. During her years at The Gardens, Pat even provided sewing services to the residents and staff, helping with things like hemming slacks and repairing clothes.

This summary barely scratches the surface of the contributions that Pat provided across her 92 years. Suffice it to say that her legacy will live on through her kindness and love, which she passed along to her family, friends, acquaintances and complete strangers. All benefited from the heart that Pat openly, but humbly, shared with others.