Among my fondest recollections of Dean Blackwell are the monthly trips to Blackhawks hockey and Bulls basketball games that he used to take kids in the Chicago, Illinois, church to when I was about 9 years old.

The car trips to and from the games were always filled with great conversations about kids’ interests and the big questions of life. Dean’s devoted interest in building confidence and faith in young people were part of what forged a friendship between us that lasted from then on.

It wasn’t a surprise when I was dating Tammy to discover that she was baptized by Dean. He showed the same interest in young people wherever he served. Much of my life, I referred to him as Uncle Dean, because he and Maxine became close friends of our family.

He once said it was a blessing to his ears and heart to hear me call him Uncle Dean. One of the impressive features of Dean’s life was how Jesus worked in him. Dean never felt as though he was too old to learn. While he was in his late 60s, he went back to college to earn an accredited master of arts in theology degree at Azusa Pacific University.

Over the years, he also helped countless members come out of the errors of Armstrongism. I praise God for this example.

Joseph Tkach
Pastor General

My big brother Dean Blackwell was one of the most loving and kind people I’ve ever known. With only two years between us, he treated me like his twin who had died at birth. We did so many fun things together, including answering God’s call to serve in his ministry. Even in that, he led the way!

Dean was like a shining star in that regard. He had a special gift of warming and encouraging everyone he met. God used him mightily to call and help thousands come to know Christ and to give their lives to him.

In the past month we’ve had dozens of people tell us how much he and Maxine helped them. God bless the two of them! I know they are joyously in his wonderful presence.

Lowell Blackwell
Nixa, Missouri

Dean Blackwell was 14 years older than me. By the time I was school age he was already at Texas A&M.

I used to go to Chicago each summer to spend time with Dean and Maxine. I remember the long St. Louis to Chicago to Milwaukee church circuit he used to make every week. We would leave Chicago early Friday morning to go to St. Louis. In St. Louis we would generally go to a park where he would finish his sermon for Friday evening (the hall was across the street from the old St. Louis Cardinals stadium).

After services and visiting (about 11 p.m.) we would leave for Chicago, sometimes stopping en route for a few hours, sometimes going all the way back (this was pre-interstate highway days).

Then it was off to the service in Chicago on Saturday morning, and with a lunch packed by some of the women in the church, on to Milwaukee for the service that afternoon.

Saturday night was Spokesman Club in Milwaukee, then a trip back to Chicago, a quick night’s sleep and Spokesman Club in Chicago on Sunday. He made this circuit for several years (while at the same time serving as district superintendent).

Dean told me once that of all the areas in which he had served, the most beneficial was probably the years he taught at Ambassador, teaching the upperclassmen service to God.

He was an example of this service whether it was at Ambassador College, in the ministry in the United States, serving at Pasadena, or teaching ministers in the Philippines, Tonga and Fiji. He and Maxine made friends everywhere they went, all over the world. His service and dedication will be sorely missed by many people around the world, including those of us in his family!

Mike Blackwell
Springfield, Missouri

When Dean was young he was quite the outdoorsman. He was an Eagle scout and played football in high school. In 1949 he entered Texas A&M. After his junior year he felt God wanted him as one of his servants, so he left A&M and went to Ambassador College. Our dad was chagrined at first, but later was pleased with Dean’s devotion to a higher calling.

Dean remained faithful to that devotion all his life and was a strong influence on many others to live a life of integrity. He had a way with words and was always encouraging. He could see the bright side of almost any situation. I always felt better after talking to Dean. I shall miss him a lot.

Tom Blackwell
Harrison, Arkansas

Dean Blackwell was my uncle. I have great memories of his love, kindness, thoughtfulness, generosity, and most of all his love for God and his people.

When visiting Uncle Dean and Aunt Maxine as a child, I remember the big "Texas" bear hugs we got from him. And then he’d always squeeze my cheeks and call me Susie.

When I moved to Pasadena to start Ambassador College as a part-time student, they asked me to stay with them, and treated me just like their daughter. When I became full-time at Ambassador, I not only popped over to visit them all the time, but Uncle Dean loved it when I brought friends with me.

They were soon asked to call him Uncle Dean. I think all my friends and roommates called him Uncle Dean after that. And he always gave them Texas bear hugs—big teddy bear hugs where you feel safe and loved. Uncle Dean always amazed me at how he could remember all the students’ names, even if he’d only met them once. He sure had a great love for people.

Any time I brought new friends over to meet Uncle Dean and Aunt Maxine, they always got a tour of their house and then his library. Uncle Dean had so many books, and I think he had them catalogued or memorized, because he knew where they were. And if he thought of one that might be of help to someone, he would find it and write a note on the inside cover, sign it and give it to them. Aunt Maxine told me that he would find old bookstores and be there all day and come back with an armful to add to his growing collection. He loved to read.

And, boy, did he know his Bible! Most of us remember how well when it came to his sermons. We would tease him all the time about his marathon sermons. He would laugh with us, too. He was so full of good information on the Bible, and was so excited to share it, he would forget about the time. If I needed to know where something was in the Bible, I just asked Uncle Dean, and he found it in just a few minutes at most. He had such a love for God’s Word.

Uncle Dean was definitely a family man. After his daughter Bonnie got married and moved away, he and Aunt Maxine were a little lost. But they just "adopted" our family along with quite a few others, and became grandpa to all our kids. My kids even got to where they would call him grandpa Dean when they were little. He and my dad, Lowell, looked quite similar.

The last day I saw Uncle Dean and Aunt Maxine was the day we moved from California to Tennessee for my husband Gary’s new pastorship. The movers had come and gone, we were loaded up and ready to head out, and Uncle Dean and Aunt Maxine showed up with lunch.

One of his favorite spots was In-and-Out Burger, and he knew we loved it, too. We sat on the floor of the living room with them and ate our lunch while Uncle Dean pulled out of a bag some neat little toys and gifts he had gotten from China Town, which the kids loved. (They were always getting little gifts for all the kids. They both had hearts of gold!)

And then we left California with more Texas bear hugs. I will miss them both, but I look forward to seeing them again when Christ returns, and I’m going to get a bunch of those Texas bear hugs from Uncle Dean.

Susan Blackwell Endres
Kingsport, Tennessee

Mr. Blackwell had a wonderful practice of giving people a book on special occasions in their lives.

One of the special treasures that my wife, Victoria, and I cherish is a small book of poems by Edgar Best in which Mr. Blackwell wrote a thoughtful note on the occasion of the birth of our first child, Jeff.

Mr. Blackwell touched many lives in beautiful ways and will be much missed and remembered.

Mike Feazell
National Publications director

My wife, Karen, and I will always remember Dean Blackwell as a warm and positive man. I had the privilege of working with him on the Ambassador College faculty, and know that many former students have fond memories of him. One pastor recently told me that the only reason he is still in the ministry is because of Dean Blackwell’s encouragement. Dean Blackwell will be missed, leaving a wonderful legacy of service and ministry.

G. R. AIbrecht

More tributes will be printed in the next issue.

Copyright © Worldwide Church of God, 2003