William Beale Dean, 91, passed away Sunday, Sept. 29. 2013. Funeral: 11 a.m. Friday at First Presbyterian Church. Interment: Greenwood Memorial Park. Visitation: 6 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday at Greenwood Funeral Home. Renowned Fort Worth attorney William Beale Dean was born Feb. 26, 1922, in Fort Worth to Helen Beale Dean and Ben J. Dean. He grew up in Breckenridge, where he graduated from Breckenridge High School. At the tender age of 16, Beale enrolled at the University of Texas at Austin. World War II interrupted his studies, and he joined the U.S. Army Air Corps, serving proudly in England, France and Germany. After the war, he returned to UT and went on to graduate at the top of his class from UT Law School in 1947. His first job was with Will Wilson as assistant district attorney in Dallas, the beginning of an illustrious legal career. In 1948 he married Margaret Ann "Margo" Webster, to whom he was married for 65 years. He and Margo moved to Fort Worth where he became an associate with the law firm of Martin, Moore and Brewster, and then Brewster, Pannell, Leeton and Dean. He later joined Brown, Herman, Scott, Young and Dean (now Brown, Dean, Wiseman, Proctor, Hart & Howell). In 1964, Beale Dean became one of the youngest lawyers to be admitted into the prestigious American College of Trial Lawyers. A former president of Tarrant County Bar Association, he was on the board of directors of the State Bar of Texas and of Security State Bank. The Tarrant County Bar Association honored him with the highly esteemed Blackstone Award in 1990 for exemplifying the highest attributes of the legal profession. He was a life fellow in the Texas Bar Foundation and had been listed in Who's Who in American Law since 1979, as well as being noted as one of the "Best Lawyers of America." When he was recognized in 2005 as a top attorney by Fort Worth Texas Magazine, he was asked, "Why do you love the law?" He answered, "I enjoy the gratitude of my clientele and the camaraderie of my fellow lawyers." He was highly respected by his colleagues and was a loving, caring, father, husband and grandfather, and was dearly loved by his family. Survivors: His wife of 65 years, Margo Dean; son, Webster B. Dean of Fort Worth; daughter, Giselle Miller; granddaughters, Liseanne and Margo Miller of New York City; brothers, Harry Dean of Granbury and Arthur Dean of Farmington, N.M.; extended family members; and many friends.
Published in Star-Telegram on October 2, 2013