The Lances and Markys were “family” long before either Alan or Dean was born, and so from their earliest years, the two of them spent every summer at the lake, growing up together and sharing boyhood adventures.
For many years after I joined the family, and then when our boys came along, we made a special point to spend a week each year at the lake, where Dean went above and beyond to take us out on the boat, grill fabulous food, and whip up his notorious blue margaritas.
Life moves us along, and too soon we were unable to continue the tradition. I remember the first year we couldn’t make it, and Jeff (who is usually very low key), was furious with us—those vacations meant so much to him, and to all of us.
Dean’s place in our lives became evident again, when Peter dazzled us with his third-grade project—a magazine called “Speeding Bullet, the Gun Magazine.” It featured an interview with “famous gun collector, Dean Marky,” and a photograph of the two of them at the firing range. It had articles, editorials, and advertisements, and a bumper sticker contest that invited readers to submit slogans, such as “It’s better to have a gun and not need it, than to need a gun and not have it.” Sound familiar?
I am glad Sandy and Sue mentioned Dean’s attention to safety, even though I’m sure we’ve all had moments where it seemed it bit extreme. But allow me one more anecdote, which I imagine all of the Lances and Markys already know. Alan and Dean were fairly young when, together, they completed their diving training and certification. One summer, diving together at “the rock,” Alan’s tank ran out of oxygen. Alan swam to Dean, grabbed the mouthpiece from him and took a big swig of air. Then back and forth, they shared Dean’s oxygen up to the surface. Whether that incident contributed to his extreme focus on safety, we will never know. But it remains a family memory nonetheless.
Dean and Alan spoke by phone often, usually every other week or so, and we were both terribly saddened by his sudden death. We will surely miss him and the good times we shared.
The Lances and Markys were “family” long before either Alan or Dean was born, and so from their earliest years, the two of them spent every summer at the lake, growing up together and sharing boyhood adventures.
For many years after I joined the family, and then when our boys came along, we made a special point to spend a week each year at the lake, where Dean went above and beyond to take us out on the boat, grill fabulous food, and whip up his notorious blue margaritas.
Life moves us along, and too soon we were unable to continue the tradition. I remember the first year we couldn’t make it, and Jeff (who is usually very low key), was furious with us—those vacations meant so much to him, and to all of us.
Dean’s place in our lives became evident again, when Peter dazzled us with his third-grade project—a magazine called “Speeding Bullet, the Gun Magazine.” It featured an interview with “famous gun collector, Dean Marky,” and a photograph of the two of them at the firing range. It had articles, editorials, and advertisements, and a bumper sticker contest that invited readers to submit slogans, such as “It’s better to have a gun and not need it, than to need a gun and not have it.” Sound familiar?
I am glad Sandy and Sue mentioned Dean’s attention to safety, even though I’m sure we’ve all had moments where it seemed it bit extreme. But allow me one more anecdote, which I imagine all of the Lances and Markys already know. Alan and Dean were fairly young when, together, they completed their diving training and certification. One summer, diving together at “the rock,” Alan’s tank ran out of oxygen. Alan swam to Dean, grabbed the mouthpiece from him and took a big swig of air. Then back and forth, they shared Dean’s oxygen up to the surface. Whether that incident contributed to his extreme focus on safety, we will never know. But it remains a family memory nonetheless.
Dean and Alan spoke by phone often, usually every other week or so, and we were both terribly saddened by his sudden death. We will surely miss him and the good times we shared.
