Michael A. Dean

Michael Archward “Mick” Dean’s life ended peacefully April 21, 2023 at the age of 51. He leaves behind him his mother Kit, father Daryl, sister Kelley, brother Bryan, his nephews Emmanuel and Elias, and his niece Tiernan. Mick was preceded in death by his grandmothers Patricia McHugh and Constance Dean, his grandfathers Arch McHugh and Edward Dean, his uncle Michael McHugh, and his cousin, Archie Badura, while many aunts, uncles, and cousins continue to carry his memory forward.

Athletic, loyal, strong, and wickedly funny, Mick was great connector—from a middle schooler making a pick-up game in baseball, basketball, or football happen in moments—to making a team out of whatever sport he was playing or coaching, from youth sports to adult men’s leagues, where every player felt they belonged and had a purpose. This ability to bring a sense of place and inclusion extended beyond sports teams and reached into his work, friends, and family. One of his favorite jobs was working with special needs adults at the Goodwill, where his skills and talents were quickly recognized and greatly appreciated. His quiet smile and direct gaze stayed steady, making people feel seen and heard. His extended family included his relatives as well as his friends, and each new baby was eagerly welcomed and held close; as one of his dear friends said in her caption for a photo of Mick holding her child, “to be in Mick’s heart was to be safe.”

Sports formed the backbone of Mick’s passions. A fan of the Pirates and Steelers from birth, thanks to his father’s Pittsburgh origins, he went beyond fandom and was an avid and successful athlete from a young age. Highschool football quarterback, and fastest baseball fielder on the team, he entered Triton College to pursue his baseball talents. As an adult, he went into the local Men’s Leagues for softball, touch football, and basketball, where he repeatedly ensured his teams spots in the Milwaukee Men’s League championships in all three sports, and winning the title in softball. His athleticism allowed him to immediately size up a situation and respond with speed and accuracy; many a right fielder was surprised by a ball speeding at him when Micky stepped up to bat, recognized an outside pitch, and switched his position to smack that ball straight to right field. He liked to spread his love of athletics and team sports, leading him to always maintain an interest in coaching Youth Sports, including his many young cousins, and was a valued member of this community.

In addition to friends, family, and sports, Mick’s other obsession was for music, and specifically the group U2. The love for their music started in high school and stayed with him to the very end, where listening to his beloved band could instantly soothe his pain. He went to their concerts, read any books on them, watched any documentaries, and could discuss their deep playlist at length. He appreciated the tightly woven themes of darkness and light, truth and deception, love and loathing, and the fight to follow your inner moral compass in every moment of challenge.

Like the music he loved, Mick Dean led a complicated life, entwined with sweetness and stalked by trouble and addiction. However, it was not lived in vain, for his, and his cousin Archie’s lost battles, sparked change in others, as written by another cousin, “You inspired me to find light on my path seeing you disappear on yours.” Mick would have us keep in mind these lyrics from “A Sort of Homecoming:”

"And your heart beats so slow

Through the rain and fallen snow

Across the fields of mourning

to a light that's in the distance.

Oh don't sorrow, no don't weep

For tonight at last I am coming home.

I am coming home."