Dean W. Datre, Sr.
05/14/1951 - 03/18/2020

Dean W. Datre, Sr. 68

Freedom, PA

With a generous heart and charisma that “filled up the room”, there was no other doting dad, big brother, devoted son, caring uncle, loyal friend, or supportive boss and colleague like Dean Datre, Sr.  That is why it is with deep sadness we announce his sudden passing on March 18th.

Dean was born on May 14, 1951 in Rochester NY to the late William A. and Catherine M. Datre.  He grew up in Morris County, NJ, where he attended Morris Catholic High School and graduated from Morris Knolls in 1969.  He served proudly in the U.S Navy during the Vietnam conflict, and, upon being honorably discharged, he attended Middlesex Community College in CT. Later, he went on to graduate from Eastern College in St David’s, PA with a BS degree in marketing.

Dean had a distinguished, 40+ year career in the industrial power and electrical equipment industry.  His most notable contributions began with sales at Bryant Electric, a division of Westinghouse, then as a general manager, building the uninterruptable power supply division of Mitsubishi Electric Power Products Inc. (MEPPI) and his most recent role was as National Sales Leader at ABB, a major, global competitor in the power and automation technologies industries.   Of course, he was more than his career, and was president on the board of trustees for the Early Learning Institute in Pittsburgh, a nonprofit provider of early intervention services which helps children with developmental delays reach their true potential.

Dean enjoyed sports as both a participant and spectator.  He played fastpitch softball in the Navy, baseball in college, and enjoyed a rousing round of golf on many a sunny day.  He was an avid, and consummate NY sports fan, including the New York Giants, Knicks, Mets, and Rangers, and was a NASCAR enthusiast.  His most favorite team of all time, however, and his greatest loyalty was to the UConn women’s basketball team.  Nothing in the universe could keep him from watching, or listening to every minute of every game.   He also loved fast cars, especially the Corvette.  He was a member of Corvettes of Pennsylvania and a board member of the Steeltown Corvette Club in Pittsburgh, PA where he was excited to join many a caravan and won numerous ribbons at exhibitions for his personal “Vette”.  One of the great joys of his life was attending the Ron Fellows Performance Driving School and he was thrilled to have visited the National Corvette Museum with his good friends from the club on more than one occasion.

He is survived by his son Dean Jr. of Richmond, VA; sister Marilou (Allen) Hahn of Lewes, DE; sister Donna M. Datre of Madison, NJ; brothers Michael J. Datre of East Haven, CT and William T. (Melissa) Datre of Branford, CT.  He also leaves behind five nieces and nephews Aimee Burns, Danielle Datre, Andrew Datre, Nicholas Datre, Olivia Datre and great-niece Catherine Cutini.  He is also survived by his grand-dog, Dudley, his niece-pup, Bee and his nephew-lab, Chester.  Dean will be missed not only by his family, but also his friends and colleagues across the USA and Japan, particularly Mark Julius, his best friend from college.

A Celebration of Life Memorial Service will be held at a later date where friends and loved ones will be invited to come together and celebrate Dean’s life.  A private family prayer service was held at Wm Bradley in Chatham, NJ on Monday, March 30. You can currently view a recording of the service at  http://client.tribucast.com/tcid/18414832.


Funeral Home:
Wm. A. Bradley & Son Funeral Home
Visitation Hours:
n/a
Funeral:
a recording of Dean's services can be viewed at http://client.tribucast.com/tcid/18414832
Committal:
a recording of the committal can be viewed at http://client.tribucast.com/tcid/34994678
Memorial Gifts:
If you wish to honor our amazing brother with a donation to his favorite charity, please visit www.telipa.org, and select “memorial” in the drop down under gift designations, select Dean Datre. Alternatively, checks may be mailed to The Early Learning Institute, 2510 Baldwick Rd, Pittsburgh, PA 15205.
Bradley Funeral Homes
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