Peter "Pete" Dickey

Pete Dickey

August 1, 1960 – December 11, 2025

Pete Dickey was a dancer, an artist, a singer, a survivor. He was the youngest of five siblings born to Richmond Chandler and Hope (White) Dickey, and grew up in Hampden and Newburgh, Maine. When he was 12, he started ballet classes at the Polly Thomas School of Dance in Bangor, and by 15 he had left home and joined the Boston Ballet. When sidelined by an injury, he moved in with his oldest sister in Deerfield, Massachusetts, where he studied for his GED, and was a principal dancer with the regional ballet company; his sister was the other principal dancer. He secured a paid apprenticeship with the Atlanta Ballet and toured across the country for a year with the company. He landed a scholarship to the Julliard School, where he earned his undergraduate degree. He then spent almost 20 years dancing with the Ohio Ballet in Akron, touring the country as well as Argentina, Ecuador and Panama City. When he retired from dancing, he settled in Minneapolis where he found community with the Twin Cities Gay Men's Chorus. He worked as a flight attendant, and pursued his dream to get his pilot's license. He battled and lived with AIDS for almost 40 years, and found care and comfort through the Aliveness Project of Minneapolis. He was predeceased by his parents, and his siblings Jane Perkins, Sheila Rice, Sarah "Sally" Whinery, and Richmond "Choppy" Dickey. He is survived by his best friend, Duane Boom, and many nieces and nephews who will miss him dearly. The world has lost a passionate, kind and artistic soul. Donations in Pete's memory may be made to the Aliveness Project of Minneapolis or Twin Cities Gay Men's Chorus