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Dean, 68, worked as a consumer and family coordinator for UNMC’s Munroe-Meyer Institute and was a tireless advocate for people with developmental disabilities.
“She always has been an advocate,” said Bruce Buehler, M.D., former MMI director. “She was on multiple boards for special needs people. She was a friend to an awful lot of families with children with special needs.”
Dean worked at MMI nearly four years and was active with a number of organizations. Her accomplishments included:
- Working on the Eastern Nebraska Community Office of Retardation, the first community-based program for people with mental retardation;
- Co-founding Pilot Parents, a support network for parents with children with developmental disabilities; and
- Creating the Douglas County Plan, which detailed how to provide community services for people with developmental disabilities, so that people could stay close to their families.
Every Nebraska parent who has a child with a disability has benefitted from the work of Shirley Dean. The phase “She worked tirelessly for children and families” is no exaggeration. The concept of Pilot Parents was to give parents of children with disabilities a “mentor” – someone who had experienced the same or similar circumstances that you were trying to navigate at the time. There is no manual that comes with children, and when you have a child with special needs the “unknowns” are immense. Having someone to turn to with your questions was a novel and much needed concept. Shirley Dean, through her legacy to help families, will live forever.
Shirley also worked to educate all of us at UNMC about the needs of adults living with disabilities. I am forever appreciative of her efforts to coordinate the October 15, 2009 Disability Awareness Month program- Life Stories: Ability Awareness- Disabling the Myths.
Unfortunately, due to her illness, she wasn't able to moderate the program as planned, but she was the architect for it all. Shirley was a great person- very appreciated- and dearly missed.
Omaha is blessed to have had the influence of Shirley and so have many others across Nebraska, the US and the UK. Shirley served as a moral compass, a constant and steady guide and always looked for, saw and reflected the real human implications of policies, budgets and rhetoric. Shirley supported and gave strength to many but she was always standing with, beside or behind but rarely in front for fear of diminishing the person or the groups strength, influence, hopes and dreams. When she did stand in front it was to protect and often at her own expense. Shirley was a premier advocate. She also was also an intelligent, honerable, loyal, tough teacher who would challenge anyone whose actions were wrong or would cause harm. Her intent was to improve life for everyone she touched and she did.