Obituary of Dean Arden Dickson

On March 30th at Saskatoon City Hospital, our family said farewell to Dean. He had experienced a long period of challenging health issues which he tackled with a quiet resilience. Throughout his adult life, Dean’s family was his light. He was so proud of his children and grandchildren. Even in his last few years, his burning daily question was “have you heard from the kids today?” Appropriately, in his last few days he was surrounded by their love with his favourite music playing in the background. He was a husband for over fifty years to Sharolyn, a father to Jeff (wife Julia, son Will), Danielle (husband Paul, children Chloe and Matthew), and Jamie (wife Anna, son Calvin); a brother to Linda (husband Grant and family) and Dianne (husband Kevin and family); a brother-in law to Doug (wife Wendy and family). His many involvements in various community organizations created opportunities to develop connections with many diverse groups and he was rewarded with many loyal friends. One of his passions over the years was entertaining those friends. Another was spending time at the lake. He was particularly content when cooking for his friends and family (Dean was a marvelous cook) and when holding a fishing rod in his hands. Dean was born to Madge and Frank Dickson and grew up in Regina. In his early years, he was an accomplished athlete. He particularly excelled in track and field and football. He held Saskatchewan provincial records in several track and field events at all age levels. He was twice selected to attend Canadian Olympic trials and ran times there that would have placed him on the Canadian team but-for an injury. Dean was among the first to be awarded a scholarship in these sports, attending and graduating from Colorado College in Colorado Springs. While there, he was a starting running back and prominent member of the track team for four years and completed a bachelor’s degree. He completed a bachelor’s degree in education at the University of Saskatchewan and later a master’s degree at the University of Northern Colorado. In his professional life, Dean was many things. He was a teacher, an administrator, a businessman, and perhaps most notably, a gifted coach. A close colleague described Dean as “an innovator, a creator and a motivator” in his coaching life. Of note, he led teams to multiple city and provincial championships at Bedford Road Collegiate, mostly in football and wrestling, but also in girls’ basketball and track and field. He won two national championships as a coach with the Saskatoon Hilltops (and later sat as a director). He was one of the first head coaches in the Riversdale Track and Field Club. He was one of the four founders of the BRIT basketball tournament. He served as zone hockey commissioner for the Bobcats, where he proudly watched his sons play. He was inducted into the Saskatoon Sports Hall of Fame as a “builder” and as a coach with the Hilltops. His former students have often approached him over the years with thanks for helping them to believe in themselves and to have confidence in their abilities, on and off the field. Dean absolutely loved coaching, and he was truly one of the greats at it. For many years, Dean was a proud and active Master Mason of Elstow Lodge No. 147 A.F.& A.M. as well as a number of concordant bodies and was joined by his daughter as honoured queen of the affiliated Job’s Daughters. During those times, he was also involved with the Saskatoon Shrine club. Dean’s final battle epitomized his life. He fought through multiple challenges but his tenacity and strong will were with him until his last breath. As one of his grandchildren wrote: “Rest easy Papa Dean.” For those wishing to donate to a charity in Dean’s name, please consider STARS Air Ambulance(2475 Airport Dr. S7L 1M4 Saskatoon, , Shriners Children Hospital Patient Transport Fund (2065 Hamilton St. Regina, SK S4P 2E1) , or Luther Senior Centre 1800 Alexandra Ave. Saskatoon SK S7K 3C7).