Dean Desotell, 4/25/31 - 1/26/11

In January, Kevin received the call that no one wants to get. His Dad, Dean wasn't doing well and Kevin needed to get to Green Bay as soon as possible. While there was a glimmer of hope that Dean would rebound, unfortunately, it didn't happen.

One January 26, 2011 we lost him. He was a great man, a kind man and a man that lived a pretty incredible life. Here is the text of his obituary in the Green Bay Press Gazette:

Dean Desotell, who helped found the Brown County Youth Hockey Association and was a member of the Wisconsin Hockey Hall of Fame, died Wednesday. He was 79.

A native of Green Bay's west side, he played for the Green Bay Hornets amateur team in 1948 and 1949 before going into the Army.

When Desotell came home from the Korean War, he started working with youth hockey programs in Green Bay. He worked at the rinks at Eastman, Farlin and Fisk parks for 11 years, then spent the rest of his career at the Colburn Park rink.

Desotell, who also worked as a foreman at Green Bay Structural Steel, played hockey into his 60s. He was inducted into the state hockey hall of fame in 1999.

Survivors include his wife, Mary; five sons, eight grandchildren and other family members.


The services that weekend were lovely. I'm sad that Nick will never know his Grandpa Dean well, but know that he's in a better place. I think I see a little of Dean in Nick - he loves hockey and has a pretty awesome slap shot for an almost 4 year old!

Rest in peace, Dean.