Dean Mccauley West

Dean McCauley West Born: April 23, 1929   Passed Away: January 9, 2022

West, Dean McCauley was born April 23, 1929, in La Junta, Colorado. His father, Harold Ryan West, was the tax assessor for Otero County, and his mother, Ruth McCauley West, was in specialty retail. Dean was active in both school and community activities, from being a cheerleader in high school to singing and playing the piano to entertaining at functions at their country club. His family was continually active in the United Methodist Church. After high school Dean attended the University of Denver, graduating with a business degree. He moved to Houston, Texas to take advantage of family friends’ connections in the banking industry. Dean had an active social life in Houston and a wide circle of friends. Ever the individualist, he grew tired of the confines of a 9:00-5:00 job and decided to try sales. He enjoyed sales and interacting with customers, and an opportunity opened in Oklahoma City. It was in Oklahoma City that he would not only hone his sales skills, but also made friends in a local Baptist Church. This would lead him to realize he had never made a personal profession of faith, and did so, and then became immersed in church service in addition to growing in his profession. He met neighbor Carolyn West and her daughter Jocelyn, and they began to date and attend church together. They married on July 16, 1956. Soon after Dean was offered a distributorship in Irving, Texas. Dean had the distributorship, followed by a commercial chemical distributorship until retirement. Through the years he worked tirelessly for the church, first in a small church in Grand Prairie leading the music ministry, then to First Baptist Church in Irving where he taught Sunday School and sang in the choir until 1989 when he joined other members to start Fellowship Church. After volunteering for years, Dean was ordained and became a full-time staff member until retirement. He is preceded in death by his wife, Carolyn West, and survived by daughter Jocelyn Taylor and husband Steve, grandson Matthew Alexander and fiancé Leanne, granddaughter Tabatha Lowery, and great grandchildren Jakob Lowery, Jared Lowery and Aspen Alexander, cousins Nancy Morehead and family, and Kim Deal and family, as well as Carolyn’s nieces Mary Holmes, Christine Joyce, and Barbara Colley. Dean was preceded in death by his parents Harold and Ruth West.
For personal reasons and COVID concerns, internment will be private. However, a Facebook page, “Dean and Carolyn West Memorial,” has been created for their family and friends to share memories and pictures. (https://www.facebook.com/groups/656502302371131)