Dean Lester VanLanduyt passed away June 2.

He was born July 2, 1939, in Bend to Mildred and Norman (Duke) VanLanduyt. His family lived at Shevlin logging camp, as well as others, until they moved to Hines in 1947.

As a child, Dean enjoyed exploring the hills above his house in Hines, including going to the Hines dump where he brought home a cat and named it Dumpy.

Dean graduated from high school in 1957 and joined the Coast Guard. He was enlisted for 10 years as an electrician on ships. His Coast Guard experience took him to many places, including the Great Lakes and off the coast of California. After leaving the Coast Guard, he joined the geodetic survey crew and traveled a bit, including a trip to Peru. When his father passed away, he decided to come home and care for his mother, Mildred. He joined the National Guard and worked at the U.S. Forest Service on a road crew until he retired.

Dean loved to camp and spent much time at Bear Creek with his partner of 45 years, Shirley Hosford, and Shirley’s grandkids, who he was “Grandpa” to in every way. He liked fishing, rock hounding, and exploring the outdoors. Dean and Shirley loved to travel, taking road trips with Dick and Vivian Everhart to Arizona to visit Norma and Dennis Daly. They even made a trip to New Zealand.

He was a very organized person with a schedule that did not change, and included Egan’s Tavern, the Elks Lodge (for beer thirty), Thriftway Market, and the Hines Post Office, where he picked up mail for many people in Shirley’s neighborhood. The ladies at the post office joked that he was taking their job as the mailman in Hines.

Dean was an avid reader and loved history. He knew much about the Fort Rock country where his mother’s side of the family homesteaded, as well as the Hampton area where his father’s family homesteaded. Dean was a staunch conservative and loved Rush Limbaugh and was a member of the John Birch Society.

Dean is survived by his sister, Vivian Everhart, and brother-in-law, Richard Everhart; sister, Norma Daly, and brother-in-law, Dennis Daly; nieces, Sharla Calkins and Timmi Winther; his lifetime partner of 45 years, Shirley Hosford; David Hosford, Mary Hosford, and Dianne Hosford; and grandchildren, Anna and Katie Hosford.

No funeral services are planned. There will be a gathering in October. A date has yet to be determined. His remains will be taken to Hampton, where his father’s family homesteaded in the early 1900s.