Obituary of Donald Philip Dean

    Donald Philip Dean is best described as a musician, educator, environmentalist, and humanitarian.  Known as “Don Dean” around the world, Don spend his life as a selfless giver.

    Trilingual, Don began his life’s mission of giving, and his appreciation for world cultures, in his late teens when he played trumpet in the Salzburg Music Festival in Austria. This sparked his lifetime journey of world travel. He would later become a tour guide throughout Europe, where he established lasting friendships.

    For several years, Don was employed by PSEG as a computer tech, where he wrote some early artificial intelligence applications.

    A graduate of William Paterson College with a degree in Music, his passion as an educator led him to a position in the Montville Township School District where he taught elementary school music for seven years.  Don enjoyed sharing his musical talents with many.  An accomplished pianist and trumpet player, he accompanied friends and performed with many organizations, including the Hanover NJ Wind Symphony.

    Don practiced random acts of kindness throughout his world travels.  In Mexico, he distributed coloring books to children on one side of a street, and crayons down the other side, enjoying what happened next.  In Peru, he arranged for a “field trip” chaperoning incarcerated adolescents from the facility where he volunteered, to a McDonalds for lunch.  He marched a whole village of little folks to the city where he treated them to haircuts.  Don was especially appreciative when in Thailand, a group of youths invited him to join in a street game of basketball.  He never forgot their kindness.

    Don was a lifelong learner.  His interest in all things science, especially botany, combined with his passion to share his knowledge, compelled him to earn a Master’s Degree in Science leading him to his employment as a science teacher and supervisor in the Oakland School District.  Always striving to make the world a smaller thus better place, Don connected his students at Valley Middle School to a school in Peru through a collaborative student art exchange. “Mr. Dean” was extremely proud of his students at Valley Middle School, spoke of them often to his family, and said it was his honor to inspire students there for 22 years.

    Simultaneously, Don’s passion for environmental preservation led him to his work in the Amazon Rainforest in Peru, where he was involved with Project Amazonas. His contributions included raising funds for medical boat repairs, greeting medical groups, purchasing and inventorying medical supplies, assisting with the acquisition of new properties in the Santa Cruz Forest Preserve, and beginning a considerable reforestation program.  Don also established an indelible rapport with the Santa Cruz Elementary and Secondary Schools.  He spent every summer and school vacation striving to reforest the area by planting trees and nurturing native wildlife.  He journeyed along the river to the Santa Cruz Field Station several times a year and he would always arrive in Peru with suitcases packed with T-shirts (many said Valley Middle School”!) as well as clothing and supplies for the local people. There was little included for his own wardrobe, but that was Don.

    In his photo, there’s a glimpse of his kindness, as Don practices his trumpet in the Peruvian rainforest, while a local farmer’s daughter looks over him.  And yes, that really is a baby monkey perched on his shoulder.

    Don is survived by his sister, Janis Amodeo, brother-in-law Jon Amodeo, nieces Jenna and Elizabeth Amodeo, cousins Adele, Susan, and Kathy Bailey, cousin Sharon Becerio, and countless friends around the world.

Donations in Don’s memory can be made to:

https://www.projectamazonas.org/  

Dr. Devon Graham: President, Scientific Director  devon@projectamazonas.org

USA: 701 E Commercial Blvd, #200; Ft. Lauderdale, FL, USA 33334.