Bob Dean never left a joke untold, a stranger unmet, food uneaten, an adult beverage undrained or good times until they were over. His family is amazed he didn't succumb years earlier to his police work, his habit of driving his tractor without brakes or his sense of adventure: "What happens if I try to cross the creek here…how fast will this '62 SS Chevy with a 409 motor or motorcycle or Trans Am go?" Answer: The Trans Am's top speed was 140mph.

Bob's wife of 62 years, Eyvonne (Cookie) Dean was witness to these adventures and is a bit surprised she has stayed sane through all of these years.

They met in 1955 on Cookie's junior high graduation outing to Doling Park (she attended Republic junior high), which included her science teacher, Mrs. Ruby Dean, who happened to be Bob's mother. Bob went along, most likely wanting to meet pretty young women. During the outing, Bob and Cookie took a boat ride on Doling Lake, and Bob saved a struggling swimmer from drowning. Before he jumped in the water, he asked Cookie to hold his watch (she was impressed both by him and the green crystal on the watch). Later that afternoon they had their first kiss in the cave. It had to be the best first date of all time.

Bob Dean, who worked hard, played hard and did his best to help those around him, died at Mercy Hospital in Springfield on April 10 due to pneumonia. He was 82.

He was born on the family farm in Hammond, MO to William and Ruby Dean. Bob was the fourth of five children: William Dean, Jr. (deceased), Patricia Webb, Don Dean (deceased), Bob and Beth Dean. The whole family worked very hard on the farm without electricity or indoor plumbing. The naughty little brothers Bobby and Donny once burned down the outhouse, among many other mischiefs. The family enjoyed the Grand Ole Opry on Saturday nights (the only time they used the radio because of limited battery power). They had good food from the garden and the animals they raised. They swam and fished in the beautiful Little North Fork river.

He attended a one-room schoolhouse in North View and later in Shiloh (where his mother also taught school) before moving to Springfield with his family. Later he attended Central High School and Parkview High School the first day it opened. That was the first and last day he attended Parkview. He met up with his good friend, Jack Boyles, that day; they decided that they had had enough of school and hitchhiked up to Joliet, Illinois with only the clothes they had on and a little pocket money. They found good jobs almost immediately at Caterpillar. Bob returned to Springfield to marry his sweetheart, Eyvonne Russell; they got married on February 2, 1957 in Miami, OK. Then the newly married couple returned to Joliet. They lived in an upstairs apartment over the mayor's house. At some point they didn't have electricity, so they kept their cold foods on the window ledge. Cookie remembers a bottle of milk crashing to the ground from the upstairs window.

Money was scarce so Bob worked at many jobs in his youth such as throwing newspapers, sacking groceries at Consumers, and washing cars. After getting married he worked on large construction jobs (obtained with the help of his uncle Roy Dean) such as building the Kimberling City Bridge over the new Table Rock Lake.

In 1962 he joined the Springfield Police Department (SPD). Bob and Cookie had to adjust to a pay reduction, but he loved his job. He eventually became a sergeant in the traffic division. He loved to tell many stories of his work; some funny, many heartbreaking. Besides the domestic disturbance calls, robberies and traffic crashes, there were opportunities to help people.

One cold Christmas Bob was patrolling on I-44 and found a family trying to hitchhike on the side of the road. He took them back to the police station where there was always a big shared meal on the holidays and he encouraged them to eat and warm up. Bob and his colleagues were concerned that the children didn't have any gifts, so several went home and brought back extra gifts from their own homes and gave them to the kids. Then the police officers on duty collected money so the family could take the bus to Dallas. Bob dropped them off at the bus station feeling much better that they were no longer out in the cold on Christmas.

Bob made many long-lasting friendships in the SPD; it truly is a brotherhood.

Bob retired after 31 years at the SPD and worked for a year as the head security official at the Springfield Airport. After that he moved on to raising cattle, fishing, hunting and partying at his cabin on a farm near his childhood home. He and his friends built the "Tin Hut," a cabin where they had many good times. Many of his friends put their own campers on the property so they could stay longer and sleep in their own beds. For many years he hosted epic hunting gatherings, which were more about spending time together and partying than hunting.

Bob and Cookie also enjoyed traveling. They started taking vacations when they were a young couple with young children. The notion of a vacation was new to Bob, but Cookie had traveled a lot in her youth, so she encouraged the idea and did the homework. Their favorite trips were going out west following their AAA triptiks. The kids, Greg and Kim, (mostly) cooperated from the backseat of the Corvair, or later in pickup trucks with campers. Eventually Bob and Cookie graduated to an Airstream motor home which they took to many NASCAR races. Bob and Cookie also took cross-country motorcycle trips with other couples.

Bob was always ready with a joke or a story. If conditions were right, he could hold forth for hours, especially if he had another jokester to encourage him. If there was a good 2-minute joke, he would make it into an unbelievable 20-minute story. His audience everywhere (home, family gatherings, taverns, grocery store clerks) could only hang on until the punch line was delivered. It was usually worth the wait.

Bob's story would be incomplete without the mention of gravy. He loved gravy, all kinds of gravy. When he and his younger siblings had to make lunch for themselves, they would have baloney gravy making competitions. Of course, sausage gravy was an essential food group; he would make vast quantities for the fall deer hunters he hosted at the Tin Hut. He absolutely adored his sister Pat's giblet gravy. A favorite memory for her is one Thanksgiving when he had to work, but he stopped by her house in uniform, donned an apron and helped with the gravy. On a trip to England he tried multiple times to convince B&B owners to make sausage gravy; he went into great details of how to melt the fat, brown the flour, etc. but they mostly looked puzzled by the notion.

In addition to his wife Cookie, Bob is survived by his two children and their spouses: Greg Dean (wife Belinda) of Bruner, MO, and Kim Dean (husband Rajiv Jauhari) of Austin, TX; his "adopted" son Damon Davis (wife Dianne); two sisters: Patricia Webb of Springfield and Beth Maloney (husband Danny) of Sparta, MO; three grandchildren, three great grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews.

Bob's family would like to thank the staff of Quail Creek (Jason, Karen, Amy Jo, Kelly and many others) and Elfindale Manor (Lashae, Hope, Patty, Tony, Cheryl, Carol, Jeanna, Crystal, Malena, among others) nursing homes. He received excellent, compassionate care and made many good friendships. He entertained his care givers with jokes, songs and stories, ever the entertainer.

Bob always had a great respect for war veterans, so if you wish to make a memorial, please make one to Wounded Warriors.

Because of the darned virus, a celebration of life will occur in the future. You have plenty of time to prepare your favorite Bob Dean stories; we look forward to seeing and hearing from you then.