BEHRENS, Dean

BEHRENS, GOODRICH, KRUSE, ZEMBSCH, ADAMS, STOCKERBRAND, SNYDER, BELLEW, SARCHET

Posted By: Lynette Edsall (email)
Date: 6/11/2007 at 10:44:39

Cherokee Chronicle Times, Monday, June 11, 2007

Dean Behrens, 46, of Westminster, Colo., formerly of Meriden, died June 2, 2007 in the Exempla St. Joseph Hospital in Denver, Colo. following his battle with brain cancer.

Funeral services are being held today at Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church, Westminster, Colo. Burial will be at Fort Logan National Cemetery with full military honors. Arrangements were made by Horan & McConaty Funeral Home of Thornton, Colo.

Dean was born July 23, 1960 in Le Mars, to Dewey and Pat (Goodrich) Behrens. He was a 1978 graduate of the Meriden-Cleghorn High School in Cleghorn. He received a degree in Mining Engineering from South Dakota School of Mines and Technology in Rapid City in 1982. Following graduation, he worked for an oil well service company in Texas. He joined the Air Force and served in Germany from 1987 to 1990 as an Intelligence officer. While there, he earned his Masters Degree in Business Management through Troy University. He completed 6 years of active duty in the Air Force and was in his 14th year in the Reserves. He lived in Westminster, Colo. since 1996 and was a co-owner of Spirit Express Trucking Company for the last seven years. Prior to that, he worked as a truck driver and a dispatcher.

He was married to Laurie Kruse on May 15, 1983 in Sturgis, SD. They have three children: Nathan, Michael and Bethany. He enjoyed running. His favorite run was the Pikes Peak Ascent half marathon in which he completed 14 times. This helped prepare him for the five marathons he completed. He also loved to read, especially when traveling to Mexico.

He was preceded in death by his maternal grandparents Emery and Mary (Zembsch) Goodrich and paternal grandparents Frank and Beatrice (Adams) Behrens.

He is survived by his wife and children, his parents Dewey and Pat Behrens of Meriden; sisters Carol (Tom) Stockebrand of West Des Moines, and Elaine (Gary) Snyder of Fergus Falls, Minn and children Greg (Allison) and Brian, and brother Keith (Deneise) Behrens of Meriden, and children Cody, Courtney and Colby. He is also survived by his parents-in-law,Marion and Joyce Kruse, brothers-in-law, James (Marty) Kruse and children Joan and Diedre, Russell (Ralphine) Kruse and children Cassandra, Christopher, Calvin and Chad, sisters-in-law, Lisa (Scott) Bellew and children Kelsey and Carissa, Katherine (Byron) Sarchet and children Jordan, Rachel and Charlotte.