Dean Wilson Dickerhoof

Dean W. Dickerhoof passed away January 9, 2024, in Midland, Texas. He was born on November 9, 1935, in Akron, Ohio, to Ralph and Daisy Dickerhoof. He earned his undergraduate degree at the University of Akron. It was there that he also met his future wife, Joy. Dean and Joy were married on August 27, 1958. They moved to Chicago where Dean continued his education, earning a master’s and doctorate in chemistry from the University of Illinois. Upon graduation, Dean accepted a teaching position at the Colorado School of Mines in Golden, Colorado. He taught undergraduate and graduate chemistry at Mines until his retirement in 2004.

As a young boy, Dean fell in love with trains. Trains were a life-long passion. He rode on trains, photographed trains and modeled trains. He read about trains and collected train memorabilia. He especially loved the Union Pacific. Dean’s daughters, Katerina and Cheryl, retain fond memories of family vacations that followed the train tracks, trips into Denver to visit the train hobby shops, and weekends spent at shopping malls for model train exhibits. Dean’s train friends remember train excursions, running model trains together, and his generosity with all he had collected.

Dean was a highly intelligent, talented man who accomplished many things, but it was not his accomplishments that defined him. Rather, it was his faithfulness in caring for what was important to him, whether it was teaching chemistry, enjoying trains, or providing for his family. It was Dean’s love for his family that took him to Midland, Texas, for the final stage of his life. He moved for his wife and his daughters.

Dean is survived by his wife Joy Dickerhoof, his daughter Katerina Scott and her husband Gary, his daughter Cheryl Fox and her husband Robert, and by his grandsons David Scott and Daniel Scott.

A funeral service will be held Friday, January 19, 2024, at 2:00 pm at Nalley-Pickle & Welch Funeral Home Chapel. A memorial service will be held in Colorado at a later date.

Arrangements are under the direction of Nalley-Pickle & Welch Funeral Home & Crematory of Midland.  Online condolences may be made at www.npwelch.com.

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