Dean C. Kell

1937 - 2018

Dean C. Kell, 80, of Loveland, CO, passed away on December 28, 2017, after battling brain cancer. He was able to spend Christmas surrounded by family, and is admired for his extraordinary faith and peace in the midst of his diagnosis. Dean was born in Wausau, WI on October 10, 1937. After attending Valparaiso University, he married Gladys L. Roebert on May 27, 1960. After serving as a youth worker in Minneapolis, MN, he became director of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod - Walther League in Chicago, IL. In 1970, he moved his family to Estes Park, CO. There he taught himself to build houses while starting his general contractor company, Banker & Kell Custom Builders. Also during this time, he and his family began making wooden toys and started Geppetto's Toy Factory. Once finished with with his construction business, Dean taught himself to make custom knives and purchased Rocky Mountain Knife Company. After retiring in 2001, he and Glady moved to Loveland, CO where he spent much time working with Habitat for Humanity and became involved in his church, Trinity Lutheran. Dean enjoyed volunteering, beekeeping, gardening, hunting / fishing, bowling, playing pool, and traveling including spending winters in Kino Bay, Mexico. He is survived by his wife Gladys, brother Donald (Carol), and sister Mary Zoromski (Eugene), and ten nieces and nephews; his two sons Hans (Jennifer) of Kingwood, TX, and Hale (Andrea) of Boulder, CO, and daughter Heidi of Westminster, CO; and grandchildren Ryan, Alexandra, Nicole, Zachary and Michael. A memorial service will be held at 3:00pm on Saturday January 6, 2018 at Trinity Lutheran Church, 3333 Duffield Avenue, Loveland, CO. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Habitat For Humanity or Trinity Lutheran Church. Remember Dean's full life: "Don't cry because it's over - smile because it happened. " (Dr Seuss)