Larry Clyde Dean

Larry Clyde Dean, 70, went to be with his Lord Sunday, March 23. Born August 8, 1943 in Oklahoma City, Larry was a beloved husband, father and grandfather. He was born into a military family and traveled the world as a child, living in locations including California, Germany, Canada and the Philippines, but Oklahoma City was his home. He spent four years in the U.S. Air Force before getting his teaching degree from Central State University in Edmond. He worked for more than 25 years at Coronado Heights Elementary in the Putnam City district, teaching his students English, science, math and life lessons such as the relative cold of a well-digger’s lunchbox and that “fair” was where old men went to look at cows and farm machinery. He met his wife of 44 years, Deanna (Bullock) Dean, in college. Larry enjoyed building model airplanes and playing “Larry/Don golf,” an improvement on the game conceived by Larry and his friend Don Hogue in which mulligans and foot wedges are legal and scores are more of an estimate than a precise number of strokes. In recent years, his favorite past times were eating out and chatting with family and friends, teasing wait staff and telling long, meandering stories to anyone who would listen. In addition to his wife, Larry is survived by his daughter Carrie Dean, of Oklahoma City; sons Ryan Dean and his wife Emily Dean, and Bryan Dean and his wife Sarah Dean, all of Oklahoma City. He also welcomed another son, Anthony White, of Oklahoma City, into the family as a teenager. He had one grandson, Thomas, 1, whom he called “gampa’s boy.” His first granddaughter, Lydia, never got the chance to meet him, but he will be smiling down on her when she is born later this year. He is also survived by his sister, Linda Ratcliffe, of Tuttle; brother-in-law Larry Bullock and his wife, Teresa Bullock, of Oklahoma City, nieces Heather (Ratcliffe) Gain, of St. Louis, and Michelle (Bullock) Wayt, of West Point, N.Y.; nephews Christian Ratcliffe, of Tuttle, Kirk Bullock, of Bixby, and Denovan Ratcliffe, of El Reno and numerous extended family members. Larry was preceded in death by his father, Oscar Clyde Dean, and mother, Nazimova Dean. Visitation will be from noon to 8 p.m. Wednesday, March 26 at Chapel Hill Funeral Home, 8701 Northwest Expressway in Oklahoma City. Services will be at 2 p.m. Thursday, March 27 at Chapel Hill Funeral Home with internment to follow at Chapel Hill Memorial Gardens.