Obituary of John Thomas Dean

John Thomas Dean, age 79, of Minneapolis, passed away on March 18, 2024, after battling Parkinson’s and dementia.  John was the oldest of three brothers and was born on November 5, 1944, to John and Erma Dean in Minneapolis.  John Dean was married to Mary Eleanore (nee Uphoff) in 1967 after dating in high school.  They were married for almost 57 years until his passing.  John and Mary Dean had three children and lived in south Minneapolis almost their entire lives.

John was preceded in death by his parents and his son, Eric Dean.  John is survived by his wife, Mary; son Aaron (Nicole); and daughter Amy (Erik).  John is survived by five grandchildren:  Anders, Ava, Charlie, Elsa, and Gunnar.  John is survived by two brothers and sisters-in-law:  Bill and Mary Dean of Arvada, Colorado, and Denny and Debbie Dean of Eden Prairie, and by sister-in-law, Kathy Pederson of Brooklyn Park, and brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Dick and Jackie Uphoff of Minneapolis.  With a twinkle in his eye, John loved to be around his extended family, including his many nieces and nephews.

John’s lasting gift to his children was to demonstrate a tremendous work ethic by working all day, every day, and setting an example to put family first.  John graduated from De LaSalle High School in Minneapolis, and then spent his entire working career in the grocery business.  He was employed by many neighborhood grocery stores in the Twin Cities, including Shoppers City, Zayre’s, Red Owl, and SuperValu.  John performed just about every job a person could have in a grocery store, and he loved every aisle of the grocery business. During family vacations, he would stop the family trip and inspect grocery stores while dragging three children through those stores. His wife, Mary, stayed in the car in the parking lot!

First and foremost, John was a devoted father and grandfather.  He would often drop by his family with treats and presents, including a treasured memory of buying a fleet of construction vehicles for Grandson Gunnar when a local toy store went out of business.  John was the greatest lead author of a story about California Condors for daughter Amy's 4th grade class that Lyndale Elementary students continue to discuss 40 years later! 

As his career progressed, John became a national expert in the field of supermarket real estate projections and strategies.  At SuperValu and then with his own company, John worked with corporate and independent family owned supermarket owners around the country to determine the best path forward to building new or better grocery stores.  John was frequently quoted in Twin Cities newspapers about the grocery business.  

John was a sometimes cooperative patient in the memory care wing of Village Shores in Richfield, Minnesota.  He liked to try to leave Village Shores without telling anyone by walking down the street as far as his walker and feet would allow.  In the last years of his life, John was blessed to receive compassionate care by many nurses, aides, physical and occupational therapists, nutritionists, and the friendly and kind staff at Village Shores and Above and Beyond.  John’s family would like to thank his Physical Therapist, Sue, and Nurse Laura (now deceased) for all of their special care and attention in the last two years of John’s life.

John’s last adventure outside of Village Shores was to attend the Grand Opening of a grocery store with his friends and former colleagues from SuperValu.  This is a cherished memory for his family because John talked about the grocery store Grand Opening until his passing.

There will be a memorial service on Thursday, April 25 at 1:30PM with visitation at 1PM, at the Minnesota Cremation Society located at 7110 France Avenue in Edina.