Dean Blinn, 83, died peacefully with family at his home in Kirkland, WA, on July 22, 2024.

He was born in Carroll, IA on May 30, 1941, to Ward and Evelyn Blinn, and lived on a farm three miles south of Glidden, IA. He loved working on the farm and raising a garden, especially with tomatoes, watermelon, and popcorn. In 1959 he graduated from Glidden-Ralston High School and in 1964 from Simpson College where he’d met his future wife Sandra Lynn Haarvig.

He and Sandy married on December 23, 1965, and on December 16, 1967, they were blessed with twin sons, Christopher Dean and Eric Lawrence. In 1966 Dean received an MSc degree in plant ecology from the University of Montana and in 1969 a PhD in aquatic ecology from the University of British Columbia, Vancouver B.C. His first faculty position was at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks, ND. After two years there, he accepted a position at Northern Arizona University (NAU), and the family moved to Flagstaff, AZ. As a faculty member of the Department of Biological Sciences at NAU for 30 years, he enjoyed working with undergraduate and graduate students – 48 of whom earned a masters or doctorate degree under Dean’s tutelage. He taught undergraduate courses in General Biology, General Botany, and Microbial Ecology, and graduate courses in Phycology, Limnology, and Stream Ecology.

Dean and Sandy moved to Bellingham, WA in June of 2006 to be near their sons in the Seattle, WA area.

Dean’s life was blessed with a wonderful childhood, a beautiful, loving and caring wife, two sons beyond expectation, five wonderful grandchildren, an exciting career, and an active retirement.

Dean is survived by his sons Christopher (Patricia) and Eric (Donna), and five grandchildren, Carson, Lauren, Paul, Jason, and Isaac. He was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Sandy, his parents, and his brother Larry.