Dean Preheim-Bartel

Dean A. Preheim-Bartel, 78, died on February 5, 2026 in Goshen, IN. He was born to Henry and Dora Ewert Bartel on October 30, 1946 in Hillsboro, KS. He grew up on the family farm until age 12 when the family moved to town.

After obtaining a degree in social services at Tabor College in 1968, Dean did Voluntary Service at the Colorado State Home and Training School for the Mentally Retarded. He continued to work for the Colorado Department of Institutions and Social Services in Denver giving leadership to developing community residential services for the disabled.

In 1978, he moved to Indiana to attend Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary in Elkhart. Here he met and married Gwendolyn Preheim. A year later he became a consultant for the Developmental Disabilities Program of Mennonite Health Services, a program through Mennonite Central Committee.

By 1988 Dean became the Manager of Church Relations and Advocacy Programs at Mennonite Mutual Aid where he developed and managed a national network of public relations staff. He also coordinated the Mennonite Health Assembly national conference for health professionals. He graduated with an MSA in Non Profit Administration from Notre Dame in 1988.

Eager to use his skills in an ecumenical setting, Dean developed a new program for Catholic Charities in Red Wing, MN in 1999. Called back to IN in 2005, he was the Director of Church Community Services in Elkhart until his retirement in 2011 due to Parkinson’s disease. Work with the disenfranchised was near and dear to his heart.

Dean was known for his kind and gentle spirit. He was able to deeply listen to people and to understand systems well enough to help make changes. His volunteer efforts included helping to develop God’s Eye Art, working at The Depot, Mennonite Archives, and at Greencroft. He enjoyed wood working and gardening as well as studying his own genealogy. A trip to his ancestral Poland with his brothers and their spouses was a highlight for Dean.

Preceding him in death are his parents, Henry and Dora Ewert Bartel, parents-in-law Lynn and Ethel Waltner Preheim, brothers, Floyd, Alfred and Marvin, and sisters-in-law, Pearl Schroeder Bartel and Dorothy Preheim, brothers-in law Gary Goertz, Kirk Preheim, and Mark Osborne.

Left to cherish his memory are his wife Gwendolyn, sisters-in-law Nina Preheim, Elizabeth Osborne, Anita Preheim, Justina Neufeld and Delores Bartel, brothers-in-law, William Preheim and Michael Preheim, as well as nieces and nephews and Ewert cousins.

A Memorial Service will be held at Eighth Street Mennonite Church on Saturday, March 7 at 11 am. Visitation will be from 9:30 -10:45 a.m. prior to the service. Memorial gifts will go to Church Community Services, P.O. Box 2346, Elkhart, IN 46515.; https://www.churchcommunityservices.org/