×

Deane Allen Beytes

Deane Allen Beytes of Milford, New Hampshire, passed away peacefully at his home in Ledgewood Bay Assisted Living on August 10. He was 96.

Born in 1919 in Providence, Rhode Island, to Leon and Hazel May Beytes, Deane spent his formative years in Plymouth, Massachusetts. He graduated from Massachusetts State College Amherst in 1940 with a degree in Physics and post-graduate work in Mathematics (and was later accepted to their mathematics faculty). He married Beatrice Perreault in 1942.

During WWII, Deane served as a navigator in the Army Air Corps in the China Burma India theater. He later flew as navigator on rescue missions in Alaska with the 10th Air Rescue Squadron.

Changing careers, Deane attended MIT and earned a degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1951. Deane and his family resided in Wilton, New Hampshire, from 1962 to 1968, then moved to Florida. The majority of his engineering career was spend at Pratt & Whitney Aircraft in West Palm Beach, where he designed military jet engines from 1969 to 1999, finally retiring at age 80. He resided in Tequesta, Florida, from 1970 to 2010.

After the passing of Beatrice, Deane married Bertha "Bert" Wegener of Milford and they became summer residents there. In 2010, Deane and Bert moved their winter home from Florida to Chattanooga, Tennessee, to be near family.

Dean was a man of few hobbies – reading and repairing things and a bit of golf were his pleasures. Affectionately known as Poppy among his family, "Poppy fix" was the battle cry when something broke.

Deane was a long-time blood donor, giving many gallons to the Palm Beach Blood Bank. In retirement, he was a volunteer shuttle van driver for Jupiter (Florida) Medical Center.

Deane is survived by his wife, Bert; children Richard, Nancy Gratton, Christopher (Laurie) and Philip (Sue); grandchildren Alicia, Samantha, Nori, Deane, Spencer, Jacob and Katherine; and great-grandchildren Anthony and Hayden.

A memorial service will be held at Ledgewood Bay Saturday, Aug. 29, at 2 p.m.