Dean Allen Hetrick

     Dean Allen Hetrick, age 85 of New Bethlehem, died peacefully early in the morning of December 16, 2025, after a brief illness.

     He is survived by his wife, El-Lisa Hetrick; his daughter and son-in-law, Sarah and Christopher Reed of Seattle, WA; his granddaughter, Eleanor Reed, of Seattle, and his siblings, Dale Hetrick of Cleveland, OH, Judy Smith, Tim Hetrick, Marc Hetrick, and Penny Kunselman all of New Bethlehem, and Janet Shoemaker of Cooksburg. He was preceded in death by his parents, Charles and Olive Hetrick of Cottage Hill, as well as his brother, Michael Hetrick of New Bethlehem and his sister, Cindy Hetrick of Eugene, OR. 

     Dean was born on his parents’ farm in Miola, in October of 1940, the eldest of 9 children.  The family moved to their dairy farm on Cottage Hill by the time he was seven, and remained there, working on the farm and helping to open his parents and Uncle’s business, Hetrick’s Farm Supply, while he was in high school. 

     Dean graduated valedictorian of Redbank Valley High School in 1958, and matriculated to Penn State University where he got his BS in Mineral Prep Engineering and participated in Air Force ROTC.  Following graduation in 1962, he went on to train as a navigator in Texas at Connelly AFB near Waco, TX.  There he met his wife, Lisa, on a blind date.  The two married in Sacramento, CA at Mather AFB in 1964.  From there he went to be on stand board crew for B-52 bombers, testing other crews for standards and procedures and flying missions over the Arctic Circle from Michigan.  Dean left the Air Force as a Captain in 1969, to pursue graduate schooling at Penn State, earning his MBA in transportation planning in 1971.  He then pursued his career in transportation planning, for the next 44 years, moving frequently until settling in Dallas for thirty years, culminating by becoming the Senior VP of Operations Planning for Dallas Area Rapid Transit.  During this time, he also became a father, as Sarah was born in Ft. Worth, TX in 1973 as he worked in one of his first professional jobs with DTS, the precursor to DART.  He retired home to New Bethlehem in 2015, and spent a quiet life with his wife, puttering and enjoying his family until October of this year when he was diagnosed with dementia and his daughter began the process of moving him and Lisa to Seattle, to better look after them.

     Dean was a quiet, kind, considerate, good and well-mannered leader, blessed with luck, a dry wit, charm, and sharp intelligence.  He dressed well and knew how to handle many situations with a deft hand, being called on frequently to act as a mediator, and excelled at and genuinely enjoyed planning for systems, budgets, and smooth operations in every aspect of his work and life.  He loved sports of every kind, playing golf, running, driving, gardening, appreciating rocks, stargazing, reading, antique hunting with his wife (as a student of history and art), music (collecting LP’s), attending the theater and museums, appreciating.

     Family and friends will be received from 2-4 and 6-8 p.m. Monday, December 29, 2025 at the Rupert Funeral Home and Cremation Service chapel, 233 Penn Street, New Bethlehem.

     Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m., Tuesday, December 30, 2025, in the funeral home chapel, with Revered Jimmy Swogger officiating.

     Military honors will be accorded at the funeral home following the service, by the Walter W. Craig American Legion Post #354 of New Bethlehem.

    Interment will follow in the New Bethlehem Cemetery.

     Online condolences may be sent to Dean’s family at www.rupertfuneralhomes.

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