Dean was called home by the Lord on February 28, 2019. He was born in Boulder, Colorado on December 9, 1926, and was the second of three children born to Frank H. and Willametta M. Miller. He was one of five great-grandchildren of Lafayette Miller, for whom the town of Lafayette, Colorado was named. He attended elementary and high school in Lafayette, graduating Lafayette High School in 1944. Dean attended the University of Colorado and graduated in August of 1948 with a BS degree in Electrical Engineering. In September of 1948, he began a 40-year career in the Electrical Engineering Department at Public Service Co. of Colorado (now Xcel Energy). While at Public Service, he was active on national committees, and in the 1970s was involved in solving the golden eagle electrocution problem around high voltage transmission lines. This activity led to research in the late 1980s on bird collisions involving the surrogate population of whooping cranes. Dean subsequently co-authored several publications on these subjects following his retirement. He married the love of his life, Mary Lou Pinger, on February 10, 1952 and they had one son, Mark. Dean is survived by his son, Mark, grandsons, Carson, Graham, and Landon, sister Lois Speer of Clarkston, Washington, as well as many nieces, nephews, and cousins.
