Richard Dean Long

March 12, 1940 - October 17, 2020

After a very full life, Richard Dean Long passed away on Saturday, Oct 17, 2020, surrounded by family. He was born in Union, West Virginia on Mar 12, 1940 and lived 80 wonderful years in West Virginia and then in Ohio. Dean was a lover of all people! If you were important to him - he knew your friends, coworkers, family, pets and neighbors by name. He remembered what you’d said about them before and asked follow-up questions the next time you were with him. Dean wanted to know everyone: the waiter serving the meal, the person at the table beside us, the stranger walking on the other side of the street, the doctor’s family, the kids’ coaches and every single person in the bleachers! At age 75, he visited his daughter in Anchorage, Alaska and they took a hike in Denali Park. He stopped every person on that trail to hear their story! “Where were they from? What brought them to Denali Park? What did they do in Alaska? Where did they go to church?” Every minute on that trail was more valuable because of the people he got to meet. Dean’s life is celebrated by his lifetime honey and wife, Joyce Long; daughter, Julie Longacre and her husband, Jon Longacre (living in Wooster, OH); son, Jason Long and his wife, Sherry Brown Long (living in Hamilton, OH); son, Keith Long and his wife, Danielle Gundler Long (living in Ross, OH); daughter, Kristi Long (living in Wooster, OH); nine beloved grandkids: Bret, Brody, Avery, Violet, Tenley, Annarose, Isaac, Jonathan, and Garrett; brother: Rusty Long and wife Sue Long (living in Hampton, VA): sister’s husband, Bobby McDowell (Union, WV) and extended family members that he cherished. He is preceded in death by his parents: Bertha and Russell Long; sister: Rosemarie Long. Dean set a strong example for his kids on how to show love and engage in family, but he also played with them and called them to responsibility. Every year he and his family would take a trip to Florida for two weeks and then wrap up the trip by returning through West Virginia for a Lockhart (Dean's mother's side of the family) reunion. Most of his life was spent with him focusing on some aspect of family - his wife and kids, his parents, his wife's parents, his aunts, uncles, cousins and all of his wife's aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. If it was possible to have a memorable experience and for family to be a part of it, he considered that the best course of action. Once his grandkids arrived, he spent as much time as possible with them watching any sporting events, playing games with them and watching movies. Dean enjoyed spending as much time with Joyce as possible while working and once they were retired, they were nearly inseparable. They have truly been each other's best friends for the last 53 years. He was very involved at Grace United Methodist Church and loved welcoming people into his church. On Sunday mornings he was more likely to be the church greeter than he was to be the one being greeted. He met every new person and worked to memorize their names to welcome them the next Sunday. In addition, he enjoyed Sunday School and served as the Sunday School Superintendent for many years. The church was very much dad's second home and he did everything he could to help Grace United Methodist flourish. Dean graduated top of his high school class of 33 students in Union and then attended West Virginia University and received his BS of Mechanical Engineering and was Engineer of the Year. He loved all things mechanical, but eventually shifted his focus to plastics and spent most of his career working with and buying and selling plastics machines. He could tell you the purpose and mechanisms for thousands of machines and enjoy every minute of it! His life will be honored with a few gatherings and the family requests that anyone attending a gathering indoors wear a mask. The visitation will be held at Weigel Funeral Home, 980 N.W. Washington Blvd., Hamilton, Ohio 45013 on Thursday, October, 22, 2020 from 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm. The funeral will be held at Grace Methodist Church, 1200 Main Street, Hamilton 45013, on Friday, October, 23, 2020 at 10:00 am. Online condolences are available at www.weigelfuneralhome.com