Dean Blue
d. May 12, 2016
Dean Fredric Blue (Wambdi owakeya duta), 90, of rural Granite Falls, passed away peacefully at his home on May 12, 2016, surrounded by his loving family, after a years-long battle with pulmonary fibrosis
Dean was born in rural Granite Falls on February 18, 1926, at his family’s ancestral home in Gah’mé, an area so named by the Dakota, to Wesley and Harriet (Pearsall) Blue; he was raised by Harriet and Fred Blue. He often laughed at the story of his “extra” year in grade school: “I repeated first grade in Miss Johnson’s classroom. I didn’t know enough English to do my schoolwork, and she didn’t know enough Dakota to understand me!”
American Indians, like so many others, enlisted in droves after Pearl Harbor to join in the defense of their country. Many Americans from the Midwest—Dean among them—found themselves fighting for their lives in the vast expanse of the South Pacific. Such an accomplishment was first necessitated by Dean lying about his age so that he could volunteer; he was only sixteen when he left for basic training at NTS Farragut, Idaho.
Dean enlisted in the Navy in October, 1943, and served as a WT 3rd Class (Boiler/Engine Room) on the USS Hoggatt Bay, a CVE-75 Casablanca-class escort carrier that saw action in the Marianas, Peleliu, Ulithi, and the Philippines, earning the carrier five well deserved battle stars. (Unarmed and slow, the crew mirthfully referred to the CVE-75 as “Combustible, Vulnerable, and Expendable.”) En route to the Lingayen Gulf, the Hoggatt Bay was hit by a Japanese kamikaze, and while she did not sink, she required extensive repairs. “I didn’t do much in the war,” was a common rejoinder that Dean offered to those who were curious about his service years: “I just did my job.” When asked in a PBS production about why he and other Indian men wanted to serve their country after how they’d been treated by the government, he replied with an easy smile, “It was our country first.” It was a bitter irony that his dedication to his country would ultimately cause his death, for the aircraft carriers of World War II were laden with asbestos, which in turn caused his pulmonary fibrosis.
Following his honorable discharge in May, 1946, Dean decided that he needed to finish what he started and completed his high school training at Flandreau Indian School. While the history of Indian boarding schools remains controversial, Dean lauded his experience at Flandreau for giving him the necessary skills to get a job and get along in society; he felt strongly that a good education gave people the necessary tools for success and put his training to work on the highline. Many years later, he would go on to earn his undergraduate degree in Sociology at Bemidji State College, an accomplishment of which he was particularly proud. He continued to support education throughout his life in his children and grandchildren, and took great pleasure in their accomplishments.
Dean spent his life serving his community and Indian people in general, both as long time Tribal Chairman at the Upper Sioux Community and as a Housing Specialist for the Bureau of Indian Affairs. His positions took him and his wife Pat to the Upper Peninsula, Wisconsin, and other areas of the Midwest.
Dean’s lasting legacy in the Upper Sioux Community was as one of the original founders of the former Firefly Creek Casino (now rebuilt as Prairie’s Edge Casino) in 1988. When the Community had exhausted all means of finding financing to complete construction on Firefly Creek, Dean used his own savings in order to deliver on the people’s collective vision for the establishment of a viable economy that has sustained its members for more than twenty years. Dean and his Board of Trustees have been memorialized on a granite marker in front of the casino.
Dean loved the outdoors and could be found many an afternoon on the golf course; puttering in his garage; mowing and manicuring his grounds; and endlessly watching the birds feed from his vast array of bird feeders. He knew all the signs of nature and often called upon the stories of his elders to interpret and understand his surroundings. Contemplation was a major part of his being and he would often be found sitting in quiet reflection. Family and community members would often seek his guidance because he was a man of great wisdom.
He also enjoyed contributing his time and expertise to PBS television, the Minnesota History Museum, Dakota Wicohan, and a host of other organizations dedicated to preserving the language and stories of Dakota elders. (Dean was one of few truly fluent speakers of the Dakota language at the Upper Sioux Community.)
Dean gained his greatest sustenance from his family and his church. A lifelong member of the Pejuhutazizi Church (the oldest operating Presbyterian Church west of the Mississippi) in rural Granite Falls, Dean gave generously of time and was a church elder for over sixty years. He also loved visiting with his children and grandchildren and always emphasized the power of forgiveness in his later years.
Dean is survived by his loving wife of 38 years, Patricia; children Linda (Doak Cobenais) Blue and Russell (Vicki) Blue, both of Granite Falls; Cindy Blue (of Oklahoma City); and Helen (Frank) Redner of Echo; stepdaughters Elizabeth (Dan Strobel) Blue of Duluth; Jennifer (Ron) Perez of Flagstaff, AZ; eleven grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren; two great-great grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents; his first wife, Helen (Sites) Blue; second wife, Elizabeth “Betty” (Twining) Blue; and brothers Oliver and Larry.
Visitation is planned for Sunday, May 15, from 4-7 p.m. with prayer service at 7:00 at the Pejuhutazizi Church. Funeral services will be held on Monday, May 16, at 10:00 at the Pejuhutazizi Church with interment at Doncaster Cemetery. Gifts to Rice Hospice and Pejuhutazizi Church in lieu of flowers are appreciated.
A fitting epigraph to Dean’s story is this: there are men who embrace and honor their duties because they fear negative repercussions if they do not fulfill their responsibilities; their motivations lie in the exterior, in the notion of expediency. Then there are the true men who embrace honor and duty because they are virtuous and honest leaders who embody the inextricable tie between actions and words. Dean Fredric Blue was a man cut from the latter cloth, and on the day of his death, the world lost a quiet and dignified Dakota leader.
Dean was born in rural Granite Falls on February 18, 1926, at his family’s ancestral home in Gah’mé, an area so named by the Dakota, to Wesley and Harriet (Pearsall) Blue; he was raised by Harriet and Fred Blue. He often laughed at the story of his “extra” year in grade school: “I repeated first grade in Miss Johnson’s classroom. I didn’t know enough English to do my schoolwork, and she didn’t know enough Dakota to understand me!”
American Indians, like so many others, enlisted in droves after Pearl Harbor to join in the defense of their country. Many Americans from the Midwest—Dean among them—found themselves fighting for their lives in the vast expanse of the South Pacific. Such an accomplishment was first necessitated by Dean lying about his age so that he could volunteer; he was only sixteen when he left for basic training at NTS Farragut, Idaho.
Dean enlisted in the Navy in October, 1943, and served as a WT 3rd Class (Boiler/Engine Room) on the USS Hoggatt Bay, a CVE-75 Casablanca-class escort carrier that saw action in the Marianas, Peleliu, Ulithi, and the Philippines, earning the carrier five well deserved battle stars. (Unarmed and slow, the crew mirthfully referred to the CVE-75 as “Combustible, Vulnerable, and Expendable.”) En route to the Lingayen Gulf, the Hoggatt Bay was hit by a Japanese kamikaze, and while she did not sink, she required extensive repairs. “I didn’t do much in the war,” was a common rejoinder that Dean offered to those who were curious about his service years: “I just did my job.” When asked in a PBS production about why he and other Indian men wanted to serve their country after how they’d been treated by the government, he replied with an easy smile, “It was our country first.” It was a bitter irony that his dedication to his country would ultimately cause his death, for the aircraft carriers of World War II were laden with asbestos, which in turn caused his pulmonary fibrosis.
Following his honorable discharge in May, 1946, Dean decided that he needed to finish what he started and completed his high school training at Flandreau Indian School. While the history of Indian boarding schools remains controversial, Dean lauded his experience at Flandreau for giving him the necessary skills to get a job and get along in society; he felt strongly that a good education gave people the necessary tools for success and put his training to work on the highline. Many years later, he would go on to earn his undergraduate degree in Sociology at Bemidji State College, an accomplishment of which he was particularly proud. He continued to support education throughout his life in his children and grandchildren, and took great pleasure in their accomplishments.
Dean spent his life serving his community and Indian people in general, both as long time Tribal Chairman at the Upper Sioux Community and as a Housing Specialist for the Bureau of Indian Affairs. His positions took him and his wife Pat to the Upper Peninsula, Wisconsin, and other areas of the Midwest.
Dean’s lasting legacy in the Upper Sioux Community was as one of the original founders of the former Firefly Creek Casino (now rebuilt as Prairie’s Edge Casino) in 1988. When the Community had exhausted all means of finding financing to complete construction on Firefly Creek, Dean used his own savings in order to deliver on the people’s collective vision for the establishment of a viable economy that has sustained its members for more than twenty years. Dean and his Board of Trustees have been memorialized on a granite marker in front of the casino.
Dean loved the outdoors and could be found many an afternoon on the golf course; puttering in his garage; mowing and manicuring his grounds; and endlessly watching the birds feed from his vast array of bird feeders. He knew all the signs of nature and often called upon the stories of his elders to interpret and understand his surroundings. Contemplation was a major part of his being and he would often be found sitting in quiet reflection. Family and community members would often seek his guidance because he was a man of great wisdom.
He also enjoyed contributing his time and expertise to PBS television, the Minnesota History Museum, Dakota Wicohan, and a host of other organizations dedicated to preserving the language and stories of Dakota elders. (Dean was one of few truly fluent speakers of the Dakota language at the Upper Sioux Community.)
Dean gained his greatest sustenance from his family and his church. A lifelong member of the Pejuhutazizi Church (the oldest operating Presbyterian Church west of the Mississippi) in rural Granite Falls, Dean gave generously of time and was a church elder for over sixty years. He also loved visiting with his children and grandchildren and always emphasized the power of forgiveness in his later years.
Dean is survived by his loving wife of 38 years, Patricia; children Linda (Doak Cobenais) Blue and Russell (Vicki) Blue, both of Granite Falls; Cindy Blue (of Oklahoma City); and Helen (Frank) Redner of Echo; stepdaughters Elizabeth (Dan Strobel) Blue of Duluth; Jennifer (Ron) Perez of Flagstaff, AZ; eleven grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren; two great-great grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents; his first wife, Helen (Sites) Blue; second wife, Elizabeth “Betty” (Twining) Blue; and brothers Oliver and Larry.
Visitation is planned for Sunday, May 15, from 4-7 p.m. with prayer service at 7:00 at the Pejuhutazizi Church. Funeral services will be held on Monday, May 16, at 10:00 at the Pejuhutazizi Church with interment at Doncaster Cemetery. Gifts to Rice Hospice and Pejuhutazizi Church in lieu of flowers are appreciated.
A fitting epigraph to Dean’s story is this: there are men who embrace and honor their duties because they fear negative repercussions if they do not fulfill their responsibilities; their motivations lie in the exterior, in the notion of expediency. Then there are the true men who embrace honor and duty because they are virtuous and honest leaders who embody the inextricable tie between actions and words. Dean Fredric Blue was a man cut from the latter cloth, and on the day of his death, the world lost a quiet and dignified Dakota leader.
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