Published in the Burbank Leader Weekend, May 6-7, 2006
Dean F. White, II of Sunriver, Oregon died Sunday, March 19, 2006 of natural causes. He was 66 years old.
Dean was born August 5, 1939 in Oakland, California, the only child of Dean and Arlowyn White. At age 5, he moved to Burbank with his parents where he attended Thomas A. Edison Elementary School, John Muir Junior High School and graduated from Burbank High School in 1957. After graduation from high school, Dean attended Westminster College in Utah where he enrolled in business administration courses. He also took fire science classes from local colleges including Rio Hondo, Los Angeles Valley College, Pasadena City College, Glendale Community and Santa Ana College.
Dean also served in the United States Marine Corps from 1958 and was honorably discharged in 1964. Dean worked for his father,Dean White I, owner of Burbak Sporting Goods, for many years prior to joining the Burbank Fire Department in 1969.
Joining the Burbank Fire Department was a turning point in Dean's life. It was the start of a very distinguished and dignified career and he consistently moved upward within the ranks of the department. Starting out as a probationary firefighter, Dean was promoted to the rank of bFire Engineer in February 1973. In November 1973, he was appointed to the post of Fire Prevention Inspector and Investigator. In 1976, Dean applied, passed the required exams and was subsequently promated to Fire Captain. During his career with the fire department, Dean was also Master Recruit Instructor from 1979 to 1986 training five Recruit Classes as well as Radiological Defense Officer and Asst. Civil Defense Coordinator for the City of Burbank.
Dean retired from the Burbank Fire Department in 1992 and relocated to Sunriver where he could enjoy his other love, skiing. An avid skier and Class A racer in his younger years, Dean skied and raced downhill, giant slalom and Super G events at many of the renowned ski resorts throughout the United States, including Mammoth Mtn. (CA), Heavenly (CA,NV), Jackson Hole (WY), Sun Valley (ID), Aleyeska (AK), and many, many others. He made ski movies such as "High Skis" and "The White Search" for producer Dick Barrymore, was a member of Mammoth Mountain Ski Patrol and was also a ski instructor at Snow Valley, CA.
Dean is survived by his daughters, Tracey A. DiMeglio and son-in-law, Andy Acosta, Kristin Louise White and Tammy L. and son-in-law Jim Wilson; his son, Jason White; and grandchildren, Nicholas and Jessica Fitzgerald. Also very special to Dean was John Fitzgerald, the father of Nicholas and Jessica.
A memorial service will be held at 10:00 am on Saturday, May 20, 2006 at the Burbank Fire Department Training Center, 1845 N. Ontario St., Burbank.
In lieu of flowers, the family has requested that memorial contributions be made to Firefighters Quest for Burn Survivors, 1146 N. Central Ave, Suite 398, Glendale, CA, 91202-2506.
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