Dean Allen Showers

Dean Allen Showers, 69, of Madison died Sunday, April 15, 2012 at his home. He is survived by his wife Lisa Brunette and his son Sean, both of Madison, and daughter Hilary Gold of New Orleans, LA; sisters Julie Tessen of Brodhead, and Denise Showers of Janesville; nieces and nephews, many cousins, other relatives and friends. Dean was born in 1942 and grew up in Beloit, where he attended local schools and as a young teen excelled as a southpaw pitcher in semi-pro baseball. After graduating from Beloit Memorial High School in 1960, he attended college in Florida, subsequently returned to Wisconsin, and when a UW-Rock County writing teacher noticed his talent and recruited him to the Janesville Gazette, he began his career in journalism at that newspaper. He was recruited to the Capitol bureau of the Milwaukee Sentinel where he covered state government - a job he loved and one where he made many friends. He later held communications positions at a variety of organizations in Milwaukee and chaired the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District during its multi-billion dollar water-pollution abatement project. He and Lisa married in 2002 and he retired as editor of the DeFores...[more]

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imes-Tribune and Poynette Press in 2003. Late in his life, he pursued an interest in film-making and traveled to Maine to work on a short feature. Dean's interests and passions were diverse; he loved books, cooking, politics, all kinds of music, baseball, tennis, fishing, environmental causes and particularly the North Woods of Wisconsin. He gave a wonderful home to his "wild thing," his white cat Aldo Leopold. As a former semi-pro baseball player he especially loved visiting the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY, and he and Lisa loved their summer trips to Bar Harbor, Maine. A memorial service for Dean will be held at Cress Funeral Home on Speedway Road in Madison at 12:30 p.m. Saturday, April 21.Visitation for friends and family will be held from 5-7 p.m. Friday, April 20 and from 11 a.m. Saturday until the time of service. Those who wish to honor Dean may consider a gift to the Red Road House in Janesville (c/o the Showers Memorial Fund) to help those struggling with addiction, or to an organization dedicated to Wisconsin environmental conservation.