He has had a life filled with interesting people of all stripes. In the twenty-five years he spent counseling addicts and their families in hospitals, mental institutions, mental health centers, a prison, and finally, in his own outpatient treatment facility, he ran groups and counseled convicts and clergy, adolescents and elderly, wealthy and impoverished. The settings did much to break down class distinctions, and taught him to see people rather than titles. He learned to love people as unique individuals, whether addicted, mentally ill, behaviorally-challenged, or just down on their luck.

     He had a side career in music that ranged from playing lead guitar in a trio that performed primarily in dark smelly bars, to performing symphonic music as “principle last trombone” in a regional symphony orchestra.

     Dean hails from a family who was in love with language and the magic of words. Dinnertime conversations, when he was a child, were often discussions of philosophy or theology or books. It was there that he learned to appreciate the music and sounds, rhythm and color in words. However, he was engrossed in the mending of broken lives, and had little time for anything but professional writing. Until now.

     After all the years of storing up things to express, the Tomball Community Library Writing Project offered him a gift: a chance for him to put it all on paper for others to read. Dean’s efforts in this project have been done with gratitude and great anticipation for more writing.

​