Joseph R. Dean Jr., 76

ADAMS, Mass. — Longtime businessman and Town Moderator Joseph R. Dean Jr., 76, of 112 West Road died early Sunday morning, Dec. 9, 2012, at Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield. Mr. Dean also served for many years on the Board of Selectmen and as a volunteer firefighter.

Born in Pittsfield on May 31, 1936, son of Joseph R. and Florence Hannon Dean, he attended Adams schools. He served with the Massachusetts National Guard for several years.

Mr. Dean was the current operator, with his sons, of Dean's Repair Shop on West Road. He had worked as a sales representative at McAndrews-King GMC-Buick in Adams from 1989 until 2007, and at the former Donahue and Shapiro Chevrolet dealerships in North Adams from 1978 until 1989. He also owned and operated the former Dean's Exxon on Commercial Street for many years.

Long active in town affairs, Mr. Dean was currently serving as town moderator, a position he was first elected to in 2010. He was a member of the Board of Selectmen from 1972 until 1989, and served again from 1991 until 2012. He also served for one term as a Berkshire County commissioner from 1982 until 1984. He had also served for several years on the Adams Planning Board and the Adams Ambulance Service. In leaving the Selectmen in 2010, past and current members of that board presented him with an inscribed gavel to take up his new duties as town moderator.

A longtime Adams firefighter, Mr. Dean was elected to membership in the Alert Hose Company on June 2, 1964, and served as secretary from 1991 to 1994, and as foreman from August 1998 until 2000. At the time of his passing, he had completed 48 years of service to the company. He was a member of First Congregational Church of Adams, the Maple Grove Civic Club, the Greylock Glen Advisory Board, the Northern Berkshire Solid Waste Committee and was the town's hazardous waste coordinator. He was a former member and past president of the Berkshire County Selectmen's Association.

He leaves his wife, the former Patricia C. Kondel, whom he married on March 15, 1974; four sons, Thomas Dean and his wife, Linda, of Fort Pierce, Fla., David Dean and his wife, Kathy, of Adams, Randy Dean of Hayes, Va., and Aaron Dean and his wife, Jennifer, of Adams; a brother, James Dean of North Adams; a sister, JoAnn Gelheiser of Adams; four grandchildren, Jennifer Dodge, and Ainsley, Kaeli and Jayden Dean; three great-grandchildren, and nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews.

He was predeceased by two brothers, John "Jack" Dean and William Dean.

FUNERAL NOTICE — The funeral for Mr. Dean will be held on Wednesday, Dec. 12, at 9 a.m. from Paciorek Funeral Home, 13 Hoosac St., Adams, followed by services at 10 at First Congregational Church, Park Street (Route 8). The Rev. Mike Mullany, pastor, will officiate. Burial will follow in the family lot in Bellevue Cemetery.Calling hours will be Tuesday, Dec. 11, from 4 to 7 at the funeral home. Memorial donations may be made to the Alert Hose Company, 3 Columbia St. Adams, MA 01220.