BOURBONNAIS — Willie J. Dean, 64, of Bourbonnais, passed away July 30, 2022, at Aperion Care Hillside.
Visitation will be from 9 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 11, until the 11 a.m. funeral services at Lax Mortuary, Kankakee. Douglas Willingham will deliver the eulogy. Burial, with full military honors, will be in Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery, Elwood.
Funeral arrangements are by Lax Mortuary, Kankakee.
Willie J. Dean was born July 23, 1958, in Brickeys, Ark., the son of Franklin Dean and Gloria Glenn, and was raised with the love and guidance of John Calmes Sr., along with his mother, since the age of 9.
He graduated from Eastridge High School in 1976; and enlisted in the U.S. Army on July 14, 1976, where he served honorably until his discharge Sept. 8, 1978.
Willie was employed at Shapiro Developmental Center for 12 years.
He had a lot of loves — the Bulls, the Bears, spending time with his family, having purpose, watching tennis, cutting grass and going to concerts.
Willie J. Dean departed this life July 30, 2022. He leaves to cherish his memory, his sons, Willie J. Dean Jr., of Raleigh, N.C., Jovarez Radford, of Bonfield, and Jomiko (Shekeila) Radford, of Kankakee; his father, John Calmes Sr., of Bourbonnais; brothers, Douglas Willingham and Marc Calmes, both of Kankakee, and Roosevelt Gist, of Newport, Ark.; sisters, Patricia (Robert Maxwell) Dean and Louella Dean, all of North Little Rock, Ark., Bessie (Eugene) Thompson, of Portland, Ore., Patricia Gist, of Newport, Ark., and Sherika (Levester) Harris, of Bourbonnais; special friend, Tomiko Radford, of Kankakee; five grandchildren; and a host of nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends.
Preceding him in death were his mother, Gloria Calmes; his brothers, Ray Dean and John Calmes Jr.; and his father, Franklin Dean.
