Dean Roger Layton, son of Cleo Franklin and Janet Blanche (Robinson) Layton, was born 28 January 1946 at West Palm Beach, Palm Beach, Florida. He was the second child and first son born to his parents.
Dean attended schools in Springfield, Virginia, graduating from Robert E. Lee High School. He earned his Bachelor's Degree in Law Enforcement at Brigham Young University in 1970. While at BYU he participated in the Army ROTC, earning the commission of Second Lieutenant. After graduation he trained at Fort Hood, Fort Bliss, and Fort Benning before being assigned to Fort Wainwright, Alaska as a platoon leader. He reached the rank of First Lieutenant.
After completing his military commitment, he was employed by Wackenhut Security as a guard at various camps during the construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline. He was hired as an Alaska State Fish & Wildlife Trooper in 1977 and retired in 1997, having spent twenty years "crushing crime and/or evil." During his retirement he held seasonal jobs for a few years as a substitute school bus driver and golf course attendant.
A faithful member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he held many callings throughout the years and served as a full-time missionary in the Spanish American Mission, which included Texas and New Mexico. He also served, with his wife, Sandra, as a service missionary at the Anchorage LDS Employment Resource Center (2008-2009).
Dean married Sandra Joy Lewis on 18 February 1972 in Los Angeles, California, then immediately whisked her away to Alaska, where they resided for 46 years, first in Fairbanks, then Anchorage, Wrangell, Kodiak, and back to Anchorage. During that time five children were received as welcome additions. They have resided in Anchorage for the past 25 years, enjoying winters in Sun City, Arizona for the past several years.
After his father's death, Dean took up the torch of family history research, continuing the work his father had pursued for many years. He added hundreds of names to the pedigree his father had built.
Dean enjoyed almost all sports, but especially golf, football, and basketball. He played on church, school, and community basketball teams, his high school football team, and a community bowling team. Later he worked as a referee and scorekeeper for high school football games and basketball games and tournaments.
He also loved his pets, especially his dachshunds. He appreciated the beauty of this glorious earth and the creatures that inhabit it. He enjoyed hunting and fishing, and just being outdoors.
Dean was preceded in death by his parents and his youngest brother, Mark F. Layton. Survivors include his wife, Sandra J. (Lewis) Layton; children Jennifer (Norman) Simmons, David B. Layton, Tiffany Layton, Kim Layton, and Brittany (Justin) Whitehead; sister, Janet (Val) Christiansen; brother, Randal C. (Marie) Layton; and five grandchildren: Jeremy, Zachary, and Sammy Simmons; and Thomas and Charlie Whitehead.
Interment will be Friday, May 4 at 11:00 AM at the Brown's Mill Cemetery in Kauffman Station, PA with military honors provided by the Chambersburg VFW Honor Guard.
To honor Dean's love of genealogy research, donations may be made to FamilySearch via LDS Philanthropies online at: https://bit.ly/2vOAsis, a secure website. Arrangements by Regency Mortuary of Sun City, Arizona and Harold M. Zimmerman & Son Funeral Home, Inc. of Greencastle, Pennsylvania.
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