Feb.
15, 2021
W.Va.
loses 2nd correctional officer to COVID-19
CHARLESTON,
W.Va. – A 49-year-old lieutenant serving at the Northern Regional
Jail and Correctional Facility died Saturday while hospitalized for COVID-19.
Lt. Delmar Dean had been with the W.Va.
Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation for more than two decades. He had
been battling COVID-19 for several months.
“The State of West Virginia and the entire
DCR family are grieving this tragic loss,” DCR Commissioner Betsy Jividen said.
Gov. Jim Justice announced the death during
Monday’s COVID-19 media briefing, pausing to ask his fellow West Virginians to join
him in mourning Dean’s passing.
“Think about his family. Please, please,
please keep all of them in your prayers,” Justice said. “I am so sorry. God
bless them in every way.”
Notifying DCR staff of the death, Jividen
asked them to “take time to remember Lt. Dean and to keep him, his wife Marcie,
their children, family, and other loved ones in your prayers.”
“Special prayers and condolences also to
Lt. Dean’s long-time friends and co-workers at NRJCF, and to all those who have
been touched by his life and service, as we continue to navigate through these
challenging times and heartbreaking losses,” Jividen said. “May his memory be a
blessing.”
Dean, of Weirton, served with DCR for 26
years. A 1990 graduate of Hampshire High School in Romney, he is survived by
his wife of 15 years and their two daughters, ages 13 and 10. Funeral services
are planned for Wednesday in Weirton.
“Lt. Dean was a dedicated and loyal DCR
employee who would do anything he could to help out a fellow employee,” NRJCF
Superintendent Shawn Straughn said. “He
loved spending time with his family and especially his two daughters who played
softball. There are no words to express how deeply he will be missed by his DCR
family.”
Dean’s death follows that of Cpl. Mark
Rustemeyer, 58, who had served at the Saint Marys Correctional Center in
Pleasants County since 1998. Rustemeyer died Jan. 2, also while receiving
treatment for COVID-19. DCR has had 725 positive tests results among staff,
including contract employees, with 14 active cases as of Sunday.
DCR thanks Dean’s family for sharing his
story. An obituary is posted online: https://www.steelandwolfe.com/obituaries/Delmar-Dean-Dean?obId=19972443.
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