Theodore "Ted" E. Deaner

Deaner, Ted E. Jr. Theodore Ted E. Deaner Jr., 77, of Rochester, MN, passed away August 29, 2013, at home in Rochester after a lengthy course of Lewy Body dementia. Ted was a native of Marine on St. Croix, Minnesota, where he grew up on a small farm. He retained lifelong connections with classmates from Stillwater High School. After one year at Amherst College, Ted returned home to the University of Minnesota where he earned his J.D. degree and passed the bar in 1960. Shortly prior in the same year he was married to Janet Helfand and later they moved to Rochester where Ted joined the OBrien law firm as an associate, then partner. A lawyers lawyer in the words of one former colleague, Ted gained professional recognition for his expertise in agricultural law, for instance in 2000 he was named a Super Lawyer by Minnesota Law and Politics and wrote several Law Journals. Ted was also a longstanding contributor to Rochester civic life, at various times donating time to leadership activities for the First Unitarian Universalist Church, Rochester Swim Club, American Red Cross, Sierra Club, and KLSE-FM. Among varied personal interests, he enjoyed American history and became an instrument-rated airplane pilot. In a regular column for the Marine Country Messenger newspaper, he reminisced fondly about his Depression-Era rural childhood, and he extended his family ties by researching his ancestry to the 17th century. Perhaps above all, Ted loved trail-walking in tandem with wife Janetthey avidly hunted wildflowers and morel mushrooms across wide stretches of the Upper Midwest. Despite his final health circumstances, Ted continued to induce smiles from his family and companions. He will be missed. Ted was preceded in death by his parents, Theodore Sr. and Hazel Lila Arlene (Peterson) Deaner and his wife, Janet. He is survived by his son, Hugh Deaner of Kentucky, daughter, Anne Deaner and her husband, Morris Zimmerman, and grandson Eli of Philadelphia. A remembrance will be held on Saturday, September 21, 2013, at the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Rochester at 2:00 p.m. The family asks in lieu of flowers that any memorials be directed to Boys & Girls Club of Rochester, Zollman Zoo at Oxbow Park in Byron MN, or favorite community-based activities in the Rochester-area.