Dean heard the call home to his new address on April 7 ^th , 2019. He passed peacefully in his home surrounded by his family and friends.

Dean was born Easter Sunday in Green Valley, MN to Richard and Mary Welvaert, the oldest of 6 children. He married Sheila Theobald on November 12 ^th , 1966 in Marshall, MN. They moved to Republic in August 1975 where Dean ran an auto mechanic business and Custom Snow Plowing for 35 years. In his spare time, Dean enjoyed working in his garden and sharing his love of his Lord & Savior, Jesus Christ.

He is survived by his wife, Sheila, of 52 years, sons; Jeff (Lygea) Welvaert of Tulsa, OK, Brad Welvaert of Olympia, WA, Chris (Andrea) Welvaert of Hood River, OR, Tim (Kayli) Welvaert of Kansas City, KS, and daughters; Charity (Micah) Teeters of Colville, WA and Bethany (Karl) Rodriguez of Lake Stevens, WA. He was blessed with 11 grandchildren and 3 great grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents.

First & foremost, the family would like to give God the glory for His faithfulness. They also would like to express their gratitude to the many friends that brought food, showed their love & prayed for the family during this season. Also, a huge thank you to their family friend, Daria Gerig, for all of her help during Dean's final days.

Dean's Celebration of Life Service will be on Saturday, April 27 ^th , 2019 from 11am – 2pm at the Curlew Civic Hall.