Walter Lee Dean, age 93, passed away January 4th, 2026, in Portland, TX. Walter was born January 24, 1932, in rural Wilson County, Kansas. He was the first-born child of Leon and Hazel (Rowan) Dean. He graduated from Allen High School, Allen, Kansas in 1950 and enrolled at Southwestern College, Winfield, Kansas. When the Korean War occurred, Walter entered the USAF in 1951, was released from active duty in 1955, and was honorably discharged in 1959. Walter went back to school upon release from military service and went to work in the aerospace industry. He retired from Boeing Company in 1991.
Walter married Wilma Jean Hurt in 1956 in Severy, Kansas. They lived in several places to include Wichita, Kansas, New Orleans, Louisiana, Tulsa, Oklahoma, Fredonia, Kansas, and Grenola, Kansas, during his years in the aerospace industry. Walter was very active in the community of Grenola, Kansas and Elk County serving on the Greenfield Township Board, Elk County Rural Fire Department, Elk County Council for Economic Development, the Grenola Public Library Board, and Mayor of Grenola for fifteen years. He was a charter member of Haysville Kansas Masonic Lodge #122, and a member of the American Legion Post #389 at Allen, Kansas. After retirement Walter and his wife eventually moved to Corpus Christi where they remained for the rest of their lives.
