Patricia Acker Dean died Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2021, at her home in Middleton, WI. Patty was born in Madison, WI on April 4, 1960, to Vincent F. and Theresa M. Acker. She and her future husband, Michael J. Dean, met in the hallway of Middleton High School in the Fall of 1975. With a surname that filled two homerooms, Patty became interested in the boy from Madison's east side who was unlikely to be a relation. That boy promptly asked to her to homecoming. Patty and Mike were wed on Oct. 5, 1984 and moved shortly thereafter to Dallas, TX to start their respective careers in contract hospitality sales and commercial real estate. After a further stint in Massachusetts, they moved back to Middleton in 1995, where they raised their three children.
Her cancer diagnosis in 2005 didn't slow her down. Seemingly with unlimited practical knowledge, energy and creativity, she and Mike started several successful businesses and volunteered at Elm Lawn School, St. Bernard Parish and in various local clubs. Assembling an extensive tool collection, Patty could be often seen wearing a tool belt (with authority). As one relative said, "she could do more in one day than most do in a month!" With a keen interest in crafts, she was an accomplished sewer, and later in life, began to quilt with a long-arm quilting machine. Her quilt treasures have found homes in many states and often for people she hardly knew. Her strawberry jam was legendary, as was her salsa.
She loved being at her Little St. Germain lake home that she designed, riding the Vilas County bike trails, boating, fish frys, family, aerobic classes, traveling to visit her children and grandchildren, Packers and all things Badgers. Usually soft-spoken, some say she was the loudest fan in Section E. Always calm, with inexhaustible patience, she made everyone around her better. In the last three years she fought the cancer with courage and grace, spending many days in clinics and treatment rooms in Madison and at Mayo Clinic. As she did all her life, she outperformed expectations time and time again.
Patty is survived by her husband, Michael; brothers, Charles (Kathy) Acker, Ronald Acker, Steven (Amondee) Acker and Bradley Acker; sisters, Karen Acker and Heidi (Rick) Yelk; mother-in-law, Margaret C. Dean, Naples, FL; daughters, Dr. Diana Dean Evans (Dr. Timothy), Tampa, FL and Darcy Dean Miller (Matthew), Edina, MN; son, Joseph M. Dean, Nashville, TN; sister-in-law, Ellen Dean McNeary (James), Rosemount, MN and brother-in-law, Kyle C. Dean, Milwaukee. She is further survived by her grandchildren, Ella P. Evans and Edward S. Evans, Tampa, FL; nieces, Margaret and Bridget McNeary; and nephews, Cyril and Jack Yelk.
Patty was preceded in death by her father, Vincent Acker; mother, Theresa; and sister, Eileen Boquet (Brad).
Burial will take place at Resurrection Cemetery.
Gunderson West Funeral & Cremation Care
Her cancer diagnosis in 2005 didn't slow her down. Seemingly with unlimited practical knowledge, energy and creativity, she and Mike started several successful businesses and volunteered at Elm Lawn School, St. Bernard Parish and in various local clubs. Assembling an extensive tool collection, Patty could be often seen wearing a tool belt (with authority). As one relative said, "she could do more in one day than most do in a month!" With a keen interest in crafts, she was an accomplished sewer, and later in life, began to quilt with a long-arm quilting machine. Her quilt treasures have found homes in many states and often for people she hardly knew. Her strawberry jam was legendary, as was her salsa.
She loved being at her Little St. Germain lake home that she designed, riding the Vilas County bike trails, boating, fish frys, family, aerobic classes, traveling to visit her children and grandchildren, Packers and all things Badgers. Usually soft-spoken, some say she was the loudest fan in Section E. Always calm, with inexhaustible patience, she made everyone around her better. In the last three years she fought the cancer with courage and grace, spending many days in clinics and treatment rooms in Madison and at Mayo Clinic. As she did all her life, she outperformed expectations time and time again.
Patty is survived by her husband, Michael; brothers, Charles (Kathy) Acker, Ronald Acker, Steven (Amondee) Acker and Bradley Acker; sisters, Karen Acker and Heidi (Rick) Yelk; mother-in-law, Margaret C. Dean, Naples, FL; daughters, Dr. Diana Dean Evans (Dr. Timothy), Tampa, FL and Darcy Dean Miller (Matthew), Edina, MN; son, Joseph M. Dean, Nashville, TN; sister-in-law, Ellen Dean McNeary (James), Rosemount, MN and brother-in-law, Kyle C. Dean, Milwaukee. She is further survived by her grandchildren, Ella P. Evans and Edward S. Evans, Tampa, FL; nieces, Margaret and Bridget McNeary; and nephews, Cyril and Jack Yelk.
Patty was preceded in death by her father, Vincent Acker; mother, Theresa; and sister, Eileen Boquet (Brad).
Burial will take place at Resurrection Cemetery.
Gunderson West Funeral & Cremation Care
Patricia Acker Dean died Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2021, at her home in Middleton, WI. Patty was born in Madison, WI on April 4, 1960, to Vincent F. and Theresa M. Acker. She and her future husband, Michael J. Dean, met in the hallway of Middleton High School in the Fall of 1975. With a surname that filled two homerooms, Patty became interested in the boy from Madison's east side who was unlikely to be a relation. That boy promptly asked to her to homecoming. Patty and Mike were wed on Oct. 5, 1984 and moved shortly thereafter to Dallas, TX to start their respective careers in contract hospitality sales and commercial real estate. After a further stint in Massachusetts, they moved back to Middleton in 1995, where they raised their three children.
Her cancer diagnosis in 2005 didn't slow her down. Seemingly with unlimited practical knowledge, energy and creativity, she and Mike started several successful businesses and volunteered at Elm Lawn School, St. Bernard Parish and in various local clubs. Assembling an extensive tool collection, Patty could be often seen wearing a tool belt (with authority). As one relative said, "she could do more in one day than most do in a month!" With a keen interest in crafts, she was an accomplished sewer, and later in life, began to quilt with a long-arm quilting machine. Her quilt treasures have found homes in many states and often for people she hardly knew. Her strawberry jam was legendary, as was her salsa.
She loved being at her Little St. Germain lake home that she designed, riding the Vilas County bike trails, boating, fish frys, family, aerobic classes, traveling to visit her children and grandchildren, Packers and all things Badgers. Usually soft-spoken, some say she was the loudest fan in Section E. Always calm, with inexhaustible patience, she made everyone around her better. In the last three years she fought the cancer with courage and grace, spending many days in clinics and treatment rooms in Madison and at Mayo Clinic. As she did all her life, she outperformed expectations time and time again.
Patty is survived by her husband, Michael; brothers, Charles (Kathy) Acker, Ronald Acker, Steven (Amondee) Acker and Bradley Acker; sisters, Karen Acker and Heidi (Rick) Yelk; mother-in-law, Margaret C. Dean, Naples, FL; daughters, Dr. Diana Dean Evans (Dr. Timothy), Tampa, FL and Darcy Dean Miller (Matthew), Edina, MN; son, Joseph M. Dean, Nashville, TN; sister-in-law, Ellen Dean McNeary (James), Rosemount, MN and brother-in-law, Kyle C. Dean, Milwaukee. She is further survived by her grandchildren, Ella P. Evans and Edward S. Evans, Tampa, FL; nieces, Margaret and Bridget McNeary; and nephews, Cyril and Jack Yelk.
Patty was preceded in death by her father, Vincent Acker; mother, Theresa; and sister, Eileen Boquet (Brad).
Burial will take place at Resurrection Cemetery.
Gunderson West Funeral & Cremation Care
Her cancer diagnosis in 2005 didn't slow her down. Seemingly with unlimited practical knowledge, energy and creativity, she and Mike started several successful businesses and volunteered at Elm Lawn School, St. Bernard Parish and in various local clubs. Assembling an extensive tool collection, Patty could be often seen wearing a tool belt (with authority). As one relative said, "she could do more in one day than most do in a month!" With a keen interest in crafts, she was an accomplished sewer, and later in life, began to quilt with a long-arm quilting machine. Her quilt treasures have found homes in many states and often for people she hardly knew. Her strawberry jam was legendary, as was her salsa.
She loved being at her Little St. Germain lake home that she designed, riding the Vilas County bike trails, boating, fish frys, family, aerobic classes, traveling to visit her children and grandchildren, Packers and all things Badgers. Usually soft-spoken, some say she was the loudest fan in Section E. Always calm, with inexhaustible patience, she made everyone around her better. In the last three years she fought the cancer with courage and grace, spending many days in clinics and treatment rooms in Madison and at Mayo Clinic. As she did all her life, she outperformed expectations time and time again.
Patty is survived by her husband, Michael; brothers, Charles (Kathy) Acker, Ronald Acker, Steven (Amondee) Acker and Bradley Acker; sisters, Karen Acker and Heidi (Rick) Yelk; mother-in-law, Margaret C. Dean, Naples, FL; daughters, Dr. Diana Dean Evans (Dr. Timothy), Tampa, FL and Darcy Dean Miller (Matthew), Edina, MN; son, Joseph M. Dean, Nashville, TN; sister-in-law, Ellen Dean McNeary (James), Rosemount, MN and brother-in-law, Kyle C. Dean, Milwaukee. She is further survived by her grandchildren, Ella P. Evans and Edward S. Evans, Tampa, FL; nieces, Margaret and Bridget McNeary; and nephews, Cyril and Jack Yelk.
Patty was preceded in death by her father, Vincent Acker; mother, Theresa; and sister, Eileen Boquet (Brad).
Burial will take place at Resurrection Cemetery.
Gunderson West Funeral & Cremation Care
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