Dean Leonard Cadwell

Dean Leonard Cadwell, 83, of Camarillo, formerly of Canoga Park and Fallbrook, went to be with his Lord in Heaven on Monday, December 30, 2013 after a brief battle with cancer.

Dean was born on March 12, 1930, to Vern and Veryl Cadwell in Belle Fourche, South Dakota. He loved the casual western lifestyle of rodeos and cowboy boots. At the age of 10, the family moved to Vermillion, South Dakota, a college town in eastern South Dakota. He suddenly became the man of the family when his father, an officer in the Army Reserves, was called into the service in WWII and was gone over three years.

Dean attended Vermillion High School where he was active in sports and played trumpet in the marching band. He received his bachelor and graduate degrees from the University of South Dakota. He was a member of Delta Tau Delta fraternity and was the student manager of the football team and on the swim team. He never outgrew his love of sports and always had coaching as his goal in life.

Having taken ROTC in college, he became an officer in the Army. He was sent to Hokkaido, Japan for a year where he served as Base Special Services Officer. While in Japan, he became engaged by way of the mail and a phone call to his college sweetheart, Marilyn Werth. They were married on August 8, 1954.

In 1956, they moved to North Hollywood and he began his teaching career at North Hollywood Junior High in the P.E. department and he began officiating football. This led to an offer to coach and teach at North Hollywood High School. That was the beginning of a very successful career in coaching both basketball and swimming at North Hollywood High and later at Kennedy High School in Granada Hills.

He was living his dream and enjoyed going to work every day. He was devoted to his teams and had a warm personal attachment for each player and swimmer. He was blessed with wonderful assistants and a great group of fellow coaches. In 1978, he was named the LA Times High School Basketball Coach of the Year and in 1983 was inducted into the Football Officials Hall of Fame. His last position at Kennedy High School was as a guidance counselor. He ended his career with Los Angeles Unified School District in 1991.

In 1994, Dean and his wife Marilyn moved to Fallbrook where he took up gardening and working in his "family fruit" orchard. They became a part of the community by joining the Hospital Auxiliary, Fallbrook United Methodist Church and truly enjoyed their 18 years in Fallbrook. In 2012, they moved to Leisure Village in Camarillo, Calif. and joined the Camarillo Methodist Church.

Dean is survived by Marilyn, his wife of 59 years; son Thomas (Royce); daughter Kathleen Breitmayer (Allan); grandchildren Michael Cadwell, Jeffrey Cadwell, Laura Cadwell, Alex Breitmayer and Steven Breitmayer.

A celebration of Dean's life will be held on February 15, 2014 at 1 p.m. at Northridge United Methodist Church, 9650 Reseda Blvd., Northridge, CA 91324.

In lieu of flowers, donations in honor of Dean Cadwell can be made to a charity of your choice.

Arrangements under the direction of Griffin Family Funeral Chapels, 1075 East Daly Drive, Camarillo, CA 93010, (805) 482-1166.