Cincinnati, Ohio Kenneth Dean Wertz passed away March 5, 2011. Born July 14,1946 in Oklahoma City, Dean was a generous, confident and happy person who could do anything that he set his mind on. His friendly, gregarious nature made him popular among his classmates at Northwest Classen High School, where he was recognized as a successful athlete by his teammates. Throughout his life, Dean loved athletics and was a natural leader, both on and off the field. Dean enrolled at Oklahoma State University in the fall of 1964, where he was a member of Beta Theta Pi Fraternity. He was also active in ROTC. After graduating from OSU in 1968, Dean served two years in the United States Army. After his discharge, he remained in the Army Reserves. At the time of his death, he was a Lieutenant Colonel. Following his active duty service, Dean moved to the west coast to pursue a career in real estate. During that time, he enrolled in the University of San Francisco Law School and earned his law degree. Dean moved to Cincinnati in 1989 where, the following year, he established Pillar Real Estate. In 1994, Dean saw an opportunity to fulfill a need in the fitness industry in Oklahoma City. He opened the Lighthouse Sports, Health and Fitness center and devoted himself to helping countless members improve their lives through physical fitness, a passion that defined Dean for those who knew him. Dean especially loved cycling, so it seems fitting that he would be busy riding his bicycle when God called his name. Dean was a devoted son, brother, father, grandfather and friend. As a brother, Dean was a role model who maintained a constant presence in the lives of his siblings, whether by coaching his younger brother Jons summer Little League baseball team many years ago or by his weekly phone calls to his sister, Jane, as he drove home from the airport during his regular commute to Cincinnati. His children, Adam and Paige, remember Dean as a proud, loving and dedicated father who strived to provide them with all he could give, without ever asking for anything in return. He was a model of love and support to his children and they will cherish his spirit and his caring example forever. Dean also loved his role as Papa to his first grandchild, Xavier, and truly found his own inner child through his relationship with his precious grandson. Dean was well known in the Oklahoma City community for his generosity and compassion for others, traits that were often expressed through his longstanding commitment to help countless charities and individuals. As we celebrate Deans life, we recognize a man whose spirit was too great to be confined to a physical existence. We will remember Dean each time we think of the names of his two businesses: Pillar Real Estate and The Lighthouse. Dean personified many of the attributes of these namesake businesses. For his family, he was a pillar of strength and support. For everyone whose lives he touched, Dean stood tall, brightened each day and illuminated the way for others as a beacon in their lives. Dean was, in the truest sense, a lighthouse. Dean is survived by his mother, Kathryn Wertz; brother Jon Wertz and his wife, Linda; sister, Jane Conway and her husband, Ron; son, Adam Wertz and his wife, Danielle; daughter, Paige Bainum and her husband, Brian; two nephews, Troy and Chad Conway; and loving companion, Ruth Davis. Dean was preceded in death by his father, W. Kenneth Wertz and his grandson, Xavier Bainum. The family kindly asks that, in lieu of flowers, memorial donations be made to Xavier's Park Project (www.xaviersparkproject.org), Ronald McDonald House Charities of Oklahoma City (www.rmhokc.com) or the Anderson Hills United Methodist Church in Cincinnati, Ohio, where Dean was an active member. Public viewing will be Thursday evening at Mercer Adams Funeral Home, 3925 North Asbury Avenue in Bethany. Services will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, March 11, at the Putnam City United Methodist Church, 5819 NW 41st Street in Warr Acres. When you part from your friend, you grieve not; for that which you love most in him may be clearer in his absence, as the mountain to the climber is clearer from the plain. -- Khalil Gibran from "The Profit" (1923)