John F. & Jane Ann Caton Dean Fund
The late John Dean (1946-2026) created this field of interest fund in 2021 in memory and honor of his late wife, Jane Ann. Jane, an educator for 35 years—including 27 in the Marion City Schools—had a particular caring attitude for people with disabilities. This motivated John to create a fund that will serve such people, especially those aged 13–21, providing assistance with needs in education and academic achievement, health, and quality of life, as well as providing resources, environments, and support to improve equity and independence through services, partnerships, education and advocacy; and, promote the general welfare and recreation of persons with disabilities and support and assist professionals who teach children with special needs.
Jane earned her teaching degrees at Bowling Green State University at Xavier University and taught business classes, such as accounting, at Marion Harding High School for decades. She was the advisor to a student leadership group and raised funds to improve the school, such as the gymnasium flag, wall mats for the gym, and a mural. Beloved by her students, she was known to be strict but fair and was the only teacher in the Marion City Schools to make the cover of the Quiver yearbook, in 2005.
John made a 25-year career in the U.S. Air Force in technology and communications. He was a pioneer in the early days of computer science, with his work spanning from replacing vacuum tubes in multi-story processing machines to writing some of the original code used for the NORAD Santa Tracker.
Stationed in Spain, John managed secure transatlantic voice communications. Following his service, he continued his career with the Defense Communications Agency. His contributions to the field were so significant that a secure voice protocol was named in his honor.
Jane Ann and John married in1998. They enjoyed their RV traveling all around and camping in beautiful locations — including a favorite spot of Jane Ann’s, casinos. They attended Sacred Hearts Catholic Church in Cardington. She passed from an aneurysm in 2020.
