Friends say goodbye to longtime newspaper hawker

A 25-year veteran newspaper hawker with the Daily American Republic, Kevin Ray Dean, 54, of Qulin died Thursday, May 27, in Southeast Hospital at Cape Girardeau. Dean is remembered by his coworkers, the community and Eagles as a “super nice guy.”

Dean “was a valuable player on the Daily American Republic team,” said Rachel Coleman, the newspaper’s business manager. “He sold newspapers on the street for us prior to my employment in 1998.”

His parents, Jesse Dean and Linda (Pitkett) Dean, “were newspaper carriers for us for years and they taught Kevin the strong work ethic he had,” Coleman said.

“You could not find a more dedicated individual when it came to standing out in all kinds of weather hawking those papers,” Coleman said. “Kevin will be sadly missed, not only by us, but I’m sure by members of the community who purchased papers from him daily.”

He sold papers on Highway 53 before moving to Fifth Street.

Mark Mercer of Hanuman Express Restaurant, located in the historic downtown area, described Dean as a “good guy.”

When they became acquainted, Mercer learned Dean was an ordained minister. Mercer said he would keep Dean hydrated in the hot weather and offered him a place to warm up in the winter.

Dean enriched the culture of the area, but he was stubborn, too, Mercer said. He recalled Dean was old school. When his foot was injured, he tried to walk off the pain.

Dean took pride in his work. While standing in traffic, he was required to wear a brightly-colored vest, and Phil Childress Bail Bonds provided it. Dean made a point of keeping the vest freshly washed.

Craig Meador of Phil Childress Bail Bonds called Dean “dedicated and awesome. Mr. Phil would go buy a newspaper and flip him a much larger bill than the newspaper cost. He was totally dedicated and amazing.”

His friends from the Bluff City Fraternal Order of Eagles Aerie 3730 on South Broadway offered many words of praise for him.

“He was one of the nicest guys,” said Michael Bishop, Aerie president.

Dean was the inside guard for the last four or five years.

“He hardly ever missed a meeting,” Bishop said. “He was a really nice guy who helped out wherever he was needed.”

Eagle James Kammerer said, Dean ran the group’s dart league and started a Saturday league.

Kammerer recalled, Dean always came by the Aerie after he sold papers.

“We all enjoyed him,” Kammerer said.

Eagle Loyd Merriman, a past state president and past president for the South Central Region for Missouri and Kansas, talked about Dean’s pride in the group’s charity work.

Dean was “proud to be an Eagle because of all the charity work we do,” said Merriman. “We all loved him. He would jump into work on the Eagles charities. We will all miss Kevin. We are very proud of Kevin and what he would do.”

“He was a super nice guy and a really good friend,” said Merriman, who he liked to argue with him about their favorite baseball team, the Cardinals.

Dean is survived by his mother, Linda Dean; one son, Isaiah Dean of Springfield, Missouri; two sisters, Tina Garrett of Naylor, and Peggy Ledford of Poplar Bluff; one brother, Keith Dean of Poplar Bluff; as well as several nieces and nephews. He is preceded in death by his father and one brother, Paul Dean.

He attended Cross Street Pentecostal Holiness Church. He enjoyed playing darts, playing pool, watching Cardinal baseball, fishing and basketball.

His funeral was Wednesday, June 2, at the Fowler and Sons Funeral Home. Burial was in the Naylor Memorial Cemetery.