Dean was born in Bryan, Texas, near the A&M College of Texas. After graduating from high school in 1956 he enlisted in the Army and was assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division, Ft. Bragg, NC as an 11 Bravo Infantryman. Upon separation from the Army in May, 1959, he returned home and enrolled at Texas A&M in Aeronautical Engineering after not having cracked a textbook in 3 years! After graduation, he accepted a position with the NASA Manned Spacecraft Center (NASA Houston) in the Landing and Recovery Division. He then accepted a position as a civilian flight test engineer for the U.S. Army Aviation Test Activity at Edwards AFB, flight testing helicopters. From Edwards, he accepted a position as an experimental flight test engineer at Bell Helicopter, and from there a position at Swearingen Aircraft, San Antonio, as flight test engineer on the Merlin III and the Metro turboprops. He has a Commercial Pilot License with Instrument and Multi-Engine Ratings; a Commercial Glider License with Glider Instructor Rating. He and his wife Jean have both flown competition aerobatics, but the thing that he is most proud of is flying 55 youngsters in the EAA Young Eagles program!