Local sports legend Eddie Dean passed away Monday.
Dean, born in Charlottesville in 1941, began his coaching and teaching career at Collegiate School in Richmond in 1966 before coming to Madison County High School a year later. He served 38 years as a football coach, athletic director and math teacher. He was instrumental both on the field and off, mentoring students long past their high school years.
As a coach, Dean amassed 308 victories making him one of the winningest Virginia high school football coaches. He led his teams to three state championships, six state runner-up finishes, 12 regional championships and 19 district championships. He was inducted into the Virginia High School Hall of Fame in 1995 and the Madison County High School Mountaineers Athletic Hall of Fame last year. He served as a president of the Virginia High School Coaches Association and was named National Football Coach of the Year by the National High School Coaches Association. The Mountaineer football field was renamed in his honor. He also served for several years as the high school athletic director.
“For 30 years in the classroom and 38 seasons on the football field, coach Dean helped generations of students discover their potential,” Madison County Public Schools officials said. “He taught with patience, led with humility and believed in giving every student and player an opportunity to contribute.”
“This was a man who walked kids out on parents’ night who didn’t have anyone to walk with them,” school board chairman Greg Martz said. “He was a true model of not just positivity on the athletic field, but an outstanding educator and a titan in the community.”
In a 2005 interview, Dean remarked that he couldn’t have imagined spending his life any other way than by being a part of so many lives. In addition to coaching and teaching, Dean served on the Madison County Board of Supervisors from 2007 to 2011, was a founder of Hoover Ridge Park and served on the board of directors of the James and Frankie Carpenter Foundation. Dean also founded Support Hoover Ridge Inc, a nonprofit created to support improvements at the facility.
“At Hoover Ridge, his legacy lives on in every athlete who takes the field, every family who gathers at the park and every improvement made possible through the organization he created,” parks and recreation staff said in a posted statement.
Dean was also a family man. He and his wife, Anne, recently celebrated their 61st anniversary. The couple were often seen at their nine grandchildren’s events.
“He was a true family man who put his wife and children first and was at every single thing they participated in,” Martz said.
A celebration of life will be held Saturday, Sept. 19 at 2 p.m. in the Wetsel Middle School Gym. Family visitation will begin at 1 p.m. with additional time from 3-4 p.m. following the celebration. A private burial will be held for the family.
