James William Dean

Dr. James W Dean passed away peacefully on May 18th at the age of 85. Born in 1941 in Knox City, Texas he was the son of Elmer Dean and Hazel Wallace. His family worked as migrant farmers, following crops throughout Texas. This meant he never spent more than one year in any school until he reached Crane High School in Crane, TX. And it was there in 1957 that he met Gloria Dean, his wife of 67 years.

After marriage, James earned his GED and started working as a mechanic for Well Servicing Company of Crane. During this time his first two sons (Billy and Michael) were born, and he went on to earn an associate’s degree at Odessa Junior College. Always curious and adventurous, James and Gloria left the oil fields and moved to College Station where James earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Texas A&M University. Upon graduation he was hired as faculty in the College of Agriculture and his next two children (Holly and Jud) were born.

In 1975 James and Gloria moved to Las Cruces, NM where he started a 21-year career at New Mexico State University. James ultimately earned his PhD from East Texas State University and became a highly decorated (and deeply loved) professor at NMSU. Regularly winning the student-voted “Favorite Professor” award in the Department of Agriculture. And in 1993 he won the penultimate Donald C. Rousch Award for Teaching Excellence, awarded to the top professor in the University. He was also a Deacon for Calvary Baptist Church, loved playing racquetball and would never pass-up a burger at Dick’s Café.

James retired from teaching in 1996 but the adventure continued on snowmobiles and 4-wheelers in Durango, CO then Tucson, AZ where he lived the last 13 years. He leaves a legacy of love, hard work, and humor.

He will be deeply missed by many, including wife Gloria, children Holly Dean and Jud Dean; grandchildren Randi Dean, Ryan Dean, Jesse Dean, Madeline Pennington, Paige McCall, Lila Lionbarger, Avery Dean (A&M ’26), Taylor Dean (A&M ’29) and Mason Dean. He is preceded in death by sons Billy and Mike Dean and grandson Luke Lionbarger.

A celebration of life will be held on July 18th at 1:00 pm in the Ballroom at the Voyager RV Resort in Tucson, AZ. The address 8701 S. Kolb Road, Tucson AZ 85756 (ask for the Ballroom at the guard station when entering). The Voyager Resort Inn is within walking distance of the ballroom and reservations are available on their website or (520)574-5000. Other details available on the East Lawn Palms Mortuary website.