Dean Campbell

Sherrell Dean Campbell II was born March 20, 1954 in Houston, Missouri to Sherrell and Joyce (Pearcy) Campbell.  He entered his heavenly home January 17, 2024 at the age of 69, at Cox South Hospital in Springfield, Missouri surrounded by his family.  Anyone that knew Dean knows of his love for fishing. There’s no doubt that as soon as he was greeted by all his loved ones that have gone on before him, he was asking “How's the fishing?”

Dean grew up in Houston and from a young age would take any chance he got to go fishing in all the creeks and rivers in the area. Dean and another young friend rode their bicycles to Montauk one day where they fished, slept on top of the picnic tables in a shelter, and rode back to Houston the next day. Albert Foxworthy stayed with the Campbells for a while and was like a big brother to Dean. They had some of the best times fishing, hunting and having fun.

Dean attended Houston Schools, graduating with the class of 1972.  He received a full ride football scholarship to the University of Arkansas, becoming a proud Razorback.  Through all the ups and downs of Razorback football, he remained a fan for life.

He was united in marriage to Theresa L. Collins on November 22, 1972. Theresa started school at Houston in the seventh grade. When the teacher introduced her on the first day, there was a freckle faced boy sitting in the front of the class in the “hot seat” by the teacher’s desk. He loudly announced that “she can sit here, by me!”  Of course, the whole class roared, but he said he knew that day that she was the one!

Dean and Theresa were blessed with two wonderful children, a son Josh in 1975 and a daughter Abby in 1983.  They were also blessed with 3 of the best grandchildren, Mackinnon in 1998, Katelyn, who was born on Dean and Theresa’s 30th wedding anniversary in 2002, to which Dean always bragged she was the best anniversary present he ever got, and Kaden in 2006.  These children and grandchildren were the greatest blessing in his life.

Dean gave his heart to the Lord on August 23, 1990, at Fairview Church and was later baptized along with Josh and Theresa at Armstrong Ford by Brother Derrell Friend in late October, 1991.  He attended the Fairview Pentecostal Holiness Church.

After college and working construction with his dad and Johnnie Jordan in Houston and later in St Louis, Dean joined his father-in-law, Carl Collins in running a milk route for over 13 years.  He then started his own drywall finishing business and took great pride in all the houses and businesses that he finished over the years.  He was known as the best “drywall man” in the area and always had a waiting list of people who were willing to wait on him because they knew it would be done right the first time.  When the housing market slowed down in 2008, his mother-in-law Shirley offered to retire and let Dean take over the milk route thus creating Collins-Campbell Hauling.  He also started working the late shift at the Dairy Farmers of America plant in Cabool in 2008 while running the milk route at the same time.  He retired from milk hauling in 2018 which gave him more time to be with his family. He really enjoyed the wonderful holidays and gatherings at Sheila and Sharon’s the last few years.

Between his usual work, he did repairs and home improvements for all his kids any time they would call.  Whether he wanted to or not, he was always willing to drop everything to help with any task asked of him unless it had to do with anything electrical because he couldn’t even stand the thought of being shocked!  He served as a road board member for Morris township for many years.

Dean not only took pride in his work, but he also took even greater pride in his family. He looked forward to every family gathering.  He supported his kids and grandkids in whatever they were doing both in sports and in life.  From coaching Josh’s little league teams, Mack’s mighty mite teams, hauling Abby all over the country for volleyball, following Kate’s cross country and wrestling, to Kaden’s mighty mites and trapshooting, he was always proud of all their accomplishments in both sports and in life.  He bragged about his family to anyone who would listen and when cell phones came out, he loved showing everyone the family deer and fishing pictures.  Dean wasn’t the perfect cookie cutter dad like you see in the Hallmark movies and we all know that nobody is, but he made all the right things happen when they needed to.  He let his kids figure life out on their own but was always there to pick them up when they absolutely needed it (aka the handy man rescue).  He was also proud of his sisters Sheila and Sharon, their families and all their accomplishments as well. He often told stories of the orneriness he and his cousins would get into when they were younger and always enjoyed anytime they could get together to visit.  When Dean and Theresa started dating, her sister Angie was only five years old, so Dean was the only brother she had. He loved Angie and Jerry, the kids and grandkids and had fun taking them fishing and on the lake for fireworks. He still talked about the brisket Jerry cooked that we didn't get to eat.

If you haven’t figured it out yet, Dean loved to fish and go gigging and it really didn’t matter what type of fishing he was doing, he was happy whether the fish were biting or not.  He was always willing to take any family member or friend fishing or gigging and was usually the first one to limit out. He, Theresa and their dog Buster took every opportunity they could the last several years to go to their camper on Norfork Lake where they enjoyed fishing for stripers, white bass and crappie and anything else that was biting. They logged many miles and memories exploring the lake and driving around sightseeing.

Dean loved to eat, especially at buffets, but he also enjoyed cooking for others. His mom always said she had to buy the Chatterbox Cafe to have another outlet to keep Dean fed. He could cook fish like no other and took pride in his breakfast cooking skills and famous gravy.  He also enjoyed hunting and going to deer camp at the farmhouse with family and friends.  The visiting and food were one of the highlights of his year.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Sherrell and Joyce Campbell, his father-in-law, Carl K. “Bud” Collins; his mother-in-law, Betty Sue Collins and a nephew, TJ Tyger.

Dean is survived by his wife Theresa; son Josh (Aimee); daughter Abby Gaither (Russell); grandchildren; Mackinnon Campbell (Jacob), Katelyn Campbell (Dyllan Gibson) and Kaden Gaither (Carlie Tuttle); sisters, Sheila Walker (Rick) and Sharon Tyger (Tom); brother, Shane Mitchell (Katrina); mother-in-law, Shirley Collins; sister-in-law, Angie Payton (Jerry), nieces, nephews, other family members and friends.

Dean was a friend to all and always took time to stop and visit or share a story with anyone.  Though his loss leaves a big hole in our family and our hearts we rejoice in knowing that he has joined his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in Heaven, and we look forward to meeting him there one day where he will be waiting on the banks of the Jordan River to take us fishing.

In lieu of flowers the family respectfully requests donations be made to the Hickory Ridge Cemetery in memory of Dean.