Dean W. Dickerhoof passed away January 9, 2024, in Midland, Texas. He was born on November 9, 1935, in Akron, Ohio, to Ralph and Daisy Dickerhoof. He earned his undergraduate degree at the University of Akron. It was there that he also met his future wife, Joy. Dean and Joy were married on August 27, 1958. They moved to Chicago where Dean continued his education, earning a master’s and doctorate in chemistry from the University of Illinois. Upon graduation, Dean accepted a teaching position at the Colorado School of Mines in Golden, Colorado. He taught undergraduate and graduate chemistry at Mines until his retirement in 2004.
As a young boy, Dean fell in love with trains. Trains were a life-long passion. He rode on trains, photographed trains and modeled trains. He read about trains and collected train memorabilia. He especially loved the Union Pacific. Dean’s daughters, Katerina and Cheryl, retain fond memories of family vacations that followed the train tracks, trips into Denver to visit the train hobby shops, and weekends spent at shopping malls for model train exhibits. Dean’s train friends remember train excursions, running model trains together, and his generosity with all he had collected.
Dean was a highly intelligent, talented man who accomplished many things, but it was not his accomplishments that defined him. Rather, it was his faithfulness in caring for what was important to him, whether it was teaching chemistry, enjoying trains, or providing for his family. It was Dean’s love for his family that took him to Midland, Texas, for the final stage of his life. He moved for his wife and his daughters.
Dean is survived by his wife Joy Dickerhoof, his daughter Katerina Scott and her husband Gary, his daughter Cheryl Fox and her husband Robert, and by his grandsons David Scott and Daniel Scott.
NMRA Achievement Program
Association Volunteer – Dean’s term of volunteer service to the NMRA was based on his nineteen years as Display Floor Manager for the National Train Show. The Train Show is what accompanied the annual NMRA Convention. He was in charge of the modules and displays (M&D) at the shows. Dean was involved in the following Train Shows: 1991 – Denver; 1992 – Columbus; 1993 – Valley Forge; 1994 – Portland; 1995 – Atlanta; 1996 – Long Beach; 1997 – Madison; 1998 – Kansas City; 1999 – St. Paul; 2000 – San Jose; 2001 – St. Louis; 2002 – Ft. Lauderdale; 2003 – Toronto; 2004 – Seattle; 2005 – Cincinnati; 2006 – Philadelphia; 2007 – Detroit; 2008 – Anaheim; 2009 – Hartford; 2010 – Milwaukee; and 2011 – Sacramento.
Model Railroad Author – All articles listed were written for The Streamliner (UP Historical Society). Following are the articles written: UP F3s – January 1985; SW Switcher Assignments in Denver – January 1986; 251 Territory 2 photos pg. 9 and 13 – January 1987; Alco FAs Part 1 – July 1987; Alco FA/FBs Part 2 – April 1988; UP Express Box Cars – 4th Qtr 1989; The Joseph Schick Collection – Vol. 7; Denver Steam Operations – Vol. 14.
Dean was also a member of N-Trak. Dean joined N-Trak in the 1970’s, his corner module was built about 1977. One of the N-Trak publications has an overhead photo of Dean’s module at the 1977 Denver NMRA convention. His corner module was also featured on page 32 of the N-Trak “How-To” book published in 1984. Included is a photo of the module and a drawing of the track plan with write up about the construction by Dean.
