Delbert Dean Culbertson Jr

Delbert Dean Culbertson Jr, known to his family and friends as Dean, passed away in his home on May 18, 2013 surrounded by his wife and three children.

Dean was born in Klamath Falls, Oregon on October 22, 1947 the second child of six siblings. When he was about two years old, his family moved to Smith River, California on the California coastline. As he grew up, Dean learned to love the ocean and enjoyed smelting and ocean fishing.

When Dean was a teenager, he moved to Grants Pass, Oregon where he graduated from high school in 1965. Before he could be drafted into the service, Dean joined the United States Navy at age 17. While in the Navy, he served on the naval aircraft carrier USS Enterprise and did three tours in Vietnam. When he returned home he continued his education at Southern Oregon College and found work at the plywood mills around Medford, Oregon.

In 1971 he met and married Pamela O’Dell. They moved to the Roseburg, Oregon area and raised their three children. Dean continued to work in the plywood industry until he became disabled in 1987. While Dean was still able he designed and built two homes for his family. He also owned a sailboat for several years and enjoyed going out of Charleston harbor to salmon fish on the ocean with his wife and children. In 1991 they moved back to Grants Pass, Oregon where they lived in his dream house, which he built.

Dean was preceded in death by his father, Delbert Dean Culbertson Sr and his mother, Virginia Frances Booth. He is survived by his wife, Pamela J Culbertson of Grants Pass, Oregon; his children, Ammie Nilsen of Watertown, Wisconsin, Rex T Culbertson of Thousand Oaks, California, and Pamela D Culbertson of Folsom, California; three granddaughters; and a great-grandson. Dean is also survived by his brothers, Rex R Culbertson and Eric Culbertson; and his sisters, Sandra Ashley, Linda Keller, and Anna Heinzman.

In August 2013 a celebration of life for Dean will be held at the ocean where he grew up. Anyone interested in attending please send an email to [emailprotected]