Dean Barton, a true son of Oregon, died peacefully at 6:59 a.m. on May 23 at his home in Eugene.

Dean’s parents Ed and Jane moved to Oregon when he was 2, and he never had a desire to live anywhere else. He especially loved Oregon’s mountains and rivers and the hunting, fishing, and skiing they provided. He grew up in Lebanon, Oregon, the oldest of three rambunctious boys who were given a long leash. He and his brothers describe their childhood as idyllic.

Summers were largely spent at the Barton & Abbey logging camp in the Cascades. Dean fondly remembered using the camp as a jumping-off place to explore the Cascades with just a backpack, a fishing pole, and a buddy. Even as young teens, they never got lost on these two to three-day excursions into the mountains.

Dean attended the University of Oregon and Willamette University. He left college early to join his father in building a trucking company that grew to be the largest privately-owned trucking company on the West Coast at that time. Unfortunately, the company was hit hard by the economic downturn of the early ‘80s and sold in 1985. Although Dean had enjoyed working in the trucking industry, it proved to be a stressful business. Dean and his dad then partnered in buying a small cattle ranch in the Crawfordsville area. Spending his days on his “little ranch” (300 acres) gave him the peace and solitude that he craved. He took seriously his stewardship of the land. He was an early implementer of intensive rotational grazing which reduced the need for chemical soil supplements. He welcomed honey bee farmers to his land and developed monarch butterfly habitat. He planted hundreds of trees along the creeks on the ranch to protect the riparian systems.

Although Dean loved the quiet of the ranch, he also loved taking visitors on rollicking rides through the pastures in his ‘47 Willys Jeep singing along to Italian opera blasting from a portable speaker. When he turned 80, after 30 years of ranching, he retired to Eugene for health reasons. He missed the ranch sorely. Dean had the good fortune to be able to pursue wide-ranging interests in his life. He was an instrument-rated pilot, a photographer, a novelist, a cutting-horse champion, and a skilled downhill skier. He loved reading about metaphysics, philosophy, and religion, and he loved hunting pheasants with his beloved Llewellyn English Setters. Dean was never bored.

Dean is survived by his wife of 43 years, Elena; three children (Darcy, Max, and Lily); and three grandchildren (Isis, Marlie, and Wyatt). He is preceded in death by his parents (Ed and Jane) and both his brothers (Glenn and Darrel). Dean loved his family, his friends, and his dogs and not necessarily in that order.

A gathering of his immediate family will be held to spread his ashes.