John H. Dean, Sr.

John H. Dean, Sr., a longtime resident of Effingham County, Georgia, passed away June 3, 2026, at the age of 99 years old. A man of deep faith, steady work, and devoted family, John lived by the three principles he carried with him from boyhood: a love of God, a love of learning, and a strong work ethic.

Born January 21, 1927, in Savannah, Georgia, John was orphaned at the age of five when both of his parents died in 1932. He lived with his grandparents until 1936, when, at age nine, he entered the Bethesda Home for Boys in Savannah — a place that would shape the rest of his life. Known there as boy number 35, he was assigned to the barn detail, and by age thirteen was rising before dawn to hand-milk fifteen cows twice a day while attending school and working the farm. He remained at Bethesda until November 1944, when he left to enlist in the United States Navy.

Following his discharge in April 1946, John returned to Savannah and took a job selling ladies’ shoes at Levy’s Department Store. There he met Bobbie Herring, a nursing student at Candler Hospital, on a blind date. They were married at the Bethesda Chapel on November 20, 1949 — the beginning of a 58-year marriage.

John and Bobbie moved to Atlanta so he could pursue a degree in Mechanical Engineering at Southern Technical College. After a brief first job in Valdosta, he joined Savannah Sugar Refinery in April 1954, where he would spend the next forty years helping to modernize a plant first built in 1917. After retiring at sixty-five, he returned for two more years as a consultant.

In 1971, John and Bobbie built a home on twenty-one acres in Effingham County and joined Springfield United Methodist Church, where John was a member of the choir and remained active for decades. He was also a proud member of the Bethesda Alumni Association and the Over-the-Sugar-Hill Supper Club.

John was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Bobbie Herring Dean. He is survived by his four children, John Jr. (Jan)., Jane (Bob), Susan (Tom), and Tom (Sheilia); his nine grandchildren, John Dean IV, Jason Dean, Avery Tomlinson, Ben Tomlinson, Alex Tomlinson, Taylor Wimberly, Clay Dean, Allie Dean, and Sam Dean; and his six great-grandchildren, Wren Pratt, Brody Dean, Violet Wimberly, Evie Dean, Tommy Dean, and Felix Dean.

A service celebrating John’s life will be held Saturday, June 6, 2026, at noon, at Springfield Oaks Church in Springfield, Georgia. Family visitation will be an hour before the service at the church. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorial contributions be made to Bethesda Academy (formerly Bethesda Home for Boys) or Springfield Oaks Church.

Interment will follow in Springfield Cemetery Annex.

Thomas C. Strickland & Sons Funeral Home, Effingham Chapel. 912-754-6421