Robert R. Dean died peacefully on May 16, 2021, after a long illness.
He was born in Milford, November 1946, the son of Robert I. and Emilia K. Dean.
Bob was a lifelong resident of Franklin. He graduated from Franklin High School Class of 1964. He was an Honor Graduate, with Distinction from the U. S. Navy Service School Command, Great Lakes, IL-- Electronics Technology. He was sent to the Naval Communication Station at Rota, Spain. Here he maintained Tropospheric Scatter microwave equipment and high power HF radio transmitters, antenna systems, uninterruptable power systems and communications terminal equipment. He configured station signal wiring plan and documented circuits. He was also assigned to coordinate maintenance of facsimile equipment at the Navy’s Fleet Weather Center on the same base.
After his tour of duty he returned to Franklin. He spent the next 27 years working for Alden Electronics in Westboro.
-- He began as Field Service Engineer, where he evaluated, hired and trained field service representatives at numerous locations in the Continental U.S. He supervised various Quality Control test plans. He coordinated installations and maintained high speed analog and digital facsimile communication systems, and performed field upgrades and emergency service calls.
-- As Senior Systems Technician he developed and supervised MILSTD Test Plans including Reliability, Environmental plus Human Factors for First Article tests. He supported testing of equipment for safety and FCC Part 15 and Part 68 compliance. He operated in numerous US and Canadian customer locations for extended periods. Also, he produced numerous prototypes and conducted First Article MILSTD test to qualify the US Air Force’s Tactical Weather System (TACWE), a transportable weather system hardened for shock and vibration, for multimode graphics and satellite communication.
-- As Project Engineer, he was a key member of a multidisciplinary design team responsible for hardware design, documentation and verification of PC-Based peer/peer systems. Designed multiple processor custom systems using Unix & MTOS, for graphics display, data analysis and communications. He operated extensively in the Far East and Canada to support Alden’s operations performing installations, updating equipment and training of technical personnel for earth stations and display systems for multinational geostationary and polar orbiting meteorological satellites. He was technical liaison to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Produced a suite of intelligent, Ultra low power, autonomous networked meteorological sensors used in deep ocean and hostile environments. He supported development of solar, wind and sea water battery power systems. He also, assisted with design, documented, coordinated/performed installation and trained users in the operation of multiple workstation weather display system, used by the FAA and several major airlines to provide flight weather briefings.
He also worked at TELCO Systems in Norwood first as Product Support Engineer, then Senior Product Verification Engineer.
Bob was a tireless Community Service volunteer in Franklin. He never did anything for the accolades; he only wanted to help people. He was a First Aid Instructor (American Red Cross), CPA Instructor (American Heart Association), Board of Directors (Franklin Lifesavers, Inc.), Member of Franklin Emergency Planning Committee), Past Chairman – Franklin Cable Advisory Committee, Producer/Director – Franklin Government Access TV, Community Service Recognition Awards from Franklin Town council, Community Newspapers/Gazette, and 25 Year Service Award – Franklin Fire Department, Fire Photographer (Franklin & Bellingham).
Many thanks to the “Honeydew” group for keeping him up to date on Town news and giving him a chance to get out of the house and laugh. Thanks to his friends from Alden that kept in touch through the years. Special thanks to his aide, “Berto”
He is survived by his sisters, Barbara Dean of Watertown, Janet (Larry) Bederian of Franklin, Marcia (John) McAuley of Stoughton, and his brother Kenneth Dean of Franklin. He was uncle to Larry, Lori, Jeffrey Bederian, and Great Uncle to Natalie, Daniel and Sadie.
No services are planned at this time. Donations in his memory may be made to the MCVFA Fund, Inc., P. O. Box 60659, Florence, MA 01062-0659 tax deductible 503(c) (3) to support Massachusetts call and volunteer Firefighters and EMTs.