Dean Sedgwick was born in Oak Park, Illinois on January 20, 1949. He went to Grace Lutheran School, River Forest, and Oak Park/River Forest High School. He graduated from the Illinois Institute of Technology in Civil Engineering and was a registered professional engineer designing and construction power plants from nuclear to biomass. He was in the highly technical Engineering Mechanics Division of Sargent & Lundy where he met his wife, Sally Sedwick, who worked in the fledgling Environmental Division, when the mailroom confused their names and he began receiving decidedly non-technical mail.

Moving to Minnesota, he worked for Hibbing Public Utilities and Dairyland Power Cooperative. Later he would form Itasca Power Company and bring a 20 MW biomass power plant to the point of construction in Northome. He acted as consultant, owners representative and onsite manager, and was known for his special talent in troubleshooting. Clients included large companies such as NICOR, Rolls Royce Energy Systems, Trigen Energy – PEI, Evantage/Dominion Power and more.

Dean was twice national AAU heavyweight judo champion and toured the world with the USA Judo Team, winning and medaling in international meets including the Pan American Games, later coaching a team representing the US in Argentina. He spent a year and a half studying judo at the Kodokan sponsored by Tenri University, Japan, meeting and practicing with many of the top Japanese players. He achieved fourth dan before retiring from active tournaments.

A gentle soul, he loved and was loved by his dogs, cattle and other animals on his family farm near Max. He was a planner, often acting as an agent of change. He had an open and curious mind, and loved a good conversation and a good chess game. He was currently serving as a board member at Bigfork Valley Hospital.

Survived and dearly missed by his wife, Sally of 47 years; daughters, Elizabeth (Curtis) Jones and Lt. Col. Susan (Matthew) Martin; grandchildren, Elisandra, Olivia, and Finnrick Jones, and Mikayla, Colton, and Scott Martin; brothers, Allan (Joyce) Behar and Peter (Laurada) Sedgwick, and and sister-in-law, Ann (Stan) Martin. Preceded in death by his parents, Ernest and Helen Sedgwick; and brother, Ernest Sedgwick, Sr.; and sisters-in—law, Marian Harriss and Edith Sims.

Share conversation and memories at Bigfork City Hall, noon to 2 PM on Saturday, July 15, 2023. A lunch will be served.