Brenda Dean

Brenda Jane (Fry) Dean, daughter of the late Wayne and Letha (Middleton) Fry, was born June 10, 1953, in Springfield, Missouri, and passed away November 4, 2025, in Houston, Missouri, at 72 years of age.

Brenda grew up on a small dairy farm in Mountain Grove and in order to avoid doing the outside farm chores, she instead learned to cook for her Daddy and Mama; this created her love for cooking, and she became a talented and beautiful hostess. Her older brother, Gary, was the benefactor of many late-night meals after he got home from work and her baby sister, Cindy, never lifted a finger or wanted for anything when Brenda was around.

Brenda attended K-12 at Mountain Grove. When she entered high school, she quickly became a proud member of the Panther Pride Band; she could play that drum like no other girl could! Brenda learned to play the piano and used her gift to serve the Lord in church. Later in life, she was her husband's pianist for every singing appearance he was invited to make; she played beautifully! Brenda had many talents, too many to list on paper. As a young adult, Brenda was a bank teller at Security Bank for many years, the customers loved her sweet smile, and she enjoyed taking care of them. She was stylish, beautiful, and a motherly figure to so many, but Brenda's pride and joy was being a mother to her girls, Heather and Cara. Brenda taught her girls to sing, cook, decorate, and how to take good care of themselves and their family.

Brenda married Charles Dean in the Spring of 1973 and worked alongside him for over 40 years on their two dairy farms. Brenda was Charles' right hand lady, there was nothing that she couldn't do on the farm. When she wasn't milking cows you would have found her serving at church, cooking lunch for the MGCA students, or working at the flower shop.

Brenda was a caretaker; that was her heartbeat. She cared for her husband's every need until she physically couldn't any longer. Charles and Brenda were a beautiful couple; strong, loving and one that many admired, especially their girls. Charles loved his bride with unconditional love and treated her like a queen every day of their fifty two years together.

Brenda loved all of her family. Her nieces, nephews, and sweet grandsons were in the forefront of her mind in everything she did. She always had a package of peanut butter crackers or M&M's in her purse, which she was willing to give away. Being Aunt Brenda, Grandma, and Granna to her "kids" filled her heart. She was so, so proud of her family.

Besides her parents, Brenda was preceded in death by a sister-in-law, Cynthia Fry.

She is survived by her husband of their home in Mountain Grove, Charles Dean, her two daughters, Heather Coen and her husband, Chad of Cabool, Missouri, and Cara Conway and her husband, Jason of Sparta, Missouri, one brother, Gary Fry and his wife, Shirley of Mountain Grove, Missouri, one sister, Cindy Kinnick and her husband, Randy of Ashland City, Tennessee, three grandchildren, Ethan Moore and his wife, Madison, Eli Moore and his wife, Allyssa, and Cael Conway, four great-grandchildren, Hudson, Levi, Hayden, and Lincoln, and many, many other relatives, friends, neighbors, and church family who will miss her sweet spirit.