Dean Sawicky, age 66, of Mahnomen, MN, died on Wednesday, October 14, 2020, at his home.

On the day of September 26th, 1954, the world became a brighter place with the birth of Dean Raymond Sawicky.  He was born in "America's Dairyland" state of Wisconsin, in the small village of Stratford to Ray and Bernice (Kaiser) Sawicky.  Little did they know at the time, the impact their son would have on so many people's lives.

As a toddler, Dean developed severe asthma.  The doctors informed Ray and Bernice that it was time to move to a drier climate for the sake of their son's health.  Doing what was necessary for Dean, they chose Arizona, known for its extremely dry climate.  With the family packed up, they headed West in hopes of a more survivable climate.

Unfortunately, Arizona turned into a short stay for the Sawicky family.  Regardless of the drier climate, Dean's asthma continued to be a serious health risk for him.  Showing no improvement, Ray and Bernice decided to head back home to Wisconsin and regroup to figure out what their next step would be.

Bernice had two brothers that lived in Alaska, and learning that the state virtually had no humidity whatsoever, it was their last ditch effort to put Dean in a more hospitable environment. Ray and Bernice sold both family farms, Ray's Mink Ranch, and the school buses they owned as well.  Once everything was sold, the Sawicky's packed up all of their possessions and headed out on a long expedition across the country to "The Last Frontier''.

Ray and Bernice's gamble paid off.  After some time had passed, Dean slowly got better, eventually putting his asthma behind him for many years.  Alaska was the perfect place for Dean, not only for his health, but for everything in his life.  Alaska and Dean went together like baseball and America, peanut butter and jelly, pencil and paper, wine and cheese, hammer and nail, ketchup and mustard… okay, well maybe not mustard… at least not for Dean.

At a young age, fishing became a passion for Dean.  A passion that never left him, a passionate hobby that sometimes got him into trouble ever so often.  Children get into trouble for all types of reasons over their youthful years, all parents can attest to this little known fact.  Dean was no different… well, maybe a bit.

One evening, before Dean was a teenager, Ray and Bernice were awakened in the middle of the night by the telephone ringing. "Hello?" Bernice answered.   "Uuummm, hi Mom." Dean responded.  "Dean? Dean, where are you calling from?" She asked, worried and confused since he should have been in his bed asleep. "I rode my bike down to the river… um, to go fishing, and… well, I caught one mom! But it's too big for me to ride my bike, hold my pole, and carry my fish…" He explained. He waited for a response. Silence. "Uumm, Mom, do you think you could come get me in the car?  It's a really good catch. Please!" Yup, Alaska and Dean were thick as thieves…

As with everything, time moved on and the years passed for Dean as it does for everyone.  In 1972, he graduated from Diamond High School in Anchorage, leaving behind his athletic passions of Track and Ice Hockey during his junior and senior years.  He was a young man and it was time for him to do what all young men do; find a job.  Right out of high school he started working as a night stocker for Carr's grocery store. Like all first jobs (he tried many!) it was a paycheck for him, just not much of one and he knew it was time for something… bigger.

Growing up with his dad, like many sons, Dean looked up to his father.  He wanted to be like his Dad, always in awe of what his father could do. When the Sawicky's arrived in Alaska all those years before, it wasn't long before Ray was working in construction, particularly road construction, which he made a career out of.  Ray was operating every type of heavy equipment imaginable at the time.  To a young boy, his dad was playing with full sized Tonka Trucks and what boy didn't want an opportunity to do that at some point in their life. So following in his father's footsteps, Dean started his next adventurous career of construction. First with Art Simonian Construction Company and later, finishing up with Studneck Construction.  This was a most memorable time for Dean, a young man on his own for the first time, away from home, adventuring all over various remote parts of Alaska, such as small bush villages literally in the wilds of that vast state.  Some locations they were assigned to would only be Dean and a few other of his co-workers for days at a time.  After work, they would have so much down time in between shifts that they would all bring work-out equipment (and fishing poles… Dean always had his fishing poles with him) to share amongst one another to help pass the time.  It was during these trips that Dean was given the nickname by his buddies and co-workers of "Pumping Iron".

The construction life eventually came to an end for Dean when he applied for and became employed with the Pepsi-Cola Company in Anchorage, Alaska. He may have no longer been doing construction for a paycheck, but like fishing, construction never left his blood. Dean continued to work with his hands and heavy equipment up until his final days, building one house on Ice Cracking Lake, and a custom home of artisan craftsmanship with his father, Ray, in Bemidji.  If you wanted to see his contagious smile and his eyes twinkling at any given point in his life, all you had to do was either hand him a fishing pole, or put him behind a piece of construction machinery. Dean worked for the Pepsi-Cola Company for thirteen years.  He started in the warehouse in the year of 1979, operating a forklift, shuttling cases of soda from one location to another, or putting them onto semi-trailers to haul away. With time, he eventually worked his way up to becoming a technician in the food and beverage area, which allowed him to travel to various businesses that were clients of Pepsi throughout the state of Alaska.  He enjoyed the position, since it allowed him to go out and interact with the customers and help them with any issues that may have arisen for them. It was here, at this company, that Dean built a family with his co-workers that became a lifetime of relationships.  Relationships that he held close to his heart long after he left the company (You all know who you are) for the next chapter in his life.

Without knowing it, Dean met that next chapter of the rest of his life in 1986, Sherry.  But it wasn't until 1990 that they ran into one another again, and both realized that their fates were intertwined, something that neither one could ignore anymore. Dean and Sherry had found in one another what most may never get to experience in their lifetime.  That missing piece that you feel deep down inside of you that aches, but you don't understand why… until one day, if you're lucky, you finally do. They stayed in Alaska together for a couple of years and eventually made the decision to move out to Minnesota where Sherry was originally from. So, they packed up their possessions in a custom-made trailer (built by Dean of course) and headed out on a three thousand mile road trip together to Ice Cracking Lake, Minnesota.

Dean and Sherry were together for eleven years before they finally decided on July 28th, 2001, it was time to celebrate their life together with their loved ones and marry.  The ceremony was held at the house they had built together on Ice Cracking Lake.  Song, dance, and celebration ensued throughout the night.  It was beautiful… they were beautiful. They had nineteen more wonderful years, best friends, celebrating their lives together from Ice Cracking Lake, to Bemidji, and eventually calling Mahnomen home.  But for those two, "home" was not a physical place, it was not a structure that you could walk into… it was something they found in one another, and that is where it still remains and forever will.

Dean had a gift throughout his life; that gift was people.  He had this ability to make people feel comfortable in his presence; safe.  In such a way, it made those people want to be around him, talk with him, confide in him.  He made you feel seen, heard, but more importantly he made you feel like… well, you. You didn't have to pretend you were something other than yourself;  no mask needed, he accepted you for you.

He usually had a friendly piece of advice to offer, or a wise word to share if it was warranted.  However, he always seemed to know when the most important thing he could do was say nothing at all and just listen to someone, because what they needed more than anything at the moment was to be listened to.  You always wanted to be the best version of yourself when you were around him, because Dean, he made you feel like you already were the best version of you. Yup, that was Dean alright.

On October 14th, 2020, the world became a darker place for us all.  We all lost someone that was irreplaceable… A son, a brother, a husband, a father, a friend, well, the list goes on and on.  It doesn't matter what we called him individually, or what role he played in our own lives.  It was all the same person; Dean Raymond Sawicky.  If you happened to know him, then you already know how special he was and how much his death has cast a shadow on all of our hearts.  Goodbye Dean, you will be painfully missed...

Dean is survived by his parents, Ray & Bernice of Anchorage, AK, his sisters, Sharon (Robert) Furr of Hampton, VA, Janet (Mark) Jones of Anchorage, AK.  His wife and best friend, Sherry Vizenor-Sawicky of Mahnomen, MN, his daughter Tara (Rollie) of Lapine, OR, and his son, Shane (Jenna) of Fresno, CA.  His grandchildren: Taylor and Austin Sawicky of Oregon, Tyler Lepping of Illinois, Cadyn and Brynna Sawicky of California.  Two great-grandchildren Dominic and Grace Sawicky.

Due to COVID-19 restrictions and concerns a Memorial Service will be held at St. Theodores Catholic Cemetery in Ponsford, MN, at a later date.