Dean LaRoy Meiners

Dean Meiners, 82-year-old of Clarissa, passed away on Thursday, February 26, 2026, at the Little Falls Care Center.

A memorial service will take place on Saturday, March 7, 2026, at 11:00 AM at the Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church in Clarissa. Visitation will take place that morning at the church from 9:30 AM to 10:30 AM. Military honors will take place immediately after the service at the church.

In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred to the Eagles Healing Nest of Sauk Centre, MN.

Dean LaRoy Meiners was born on January 29, 1944 to Martin and Louise (Fruechte) Meiners in Vesta, Minnesota, which is located in Redwood County. He was the tenth child born into a family of five sisters and four brothers. He would joke that it took his parents ten tries to get perfection!

     When Dean was five years old, his family moved to a farm one mile south of Clarissa. He attended Clarissa School and graduated in 1962. While in high school, he played football, basketball and was in track.

      In January of 1963, he joined the Air Force. After basic training in San Antonio, TX, he was stationed in Amarillo, TX, for Jet Aircraft Mechanic training. He spent a year at Misawa Air Base in Japan. His tours of duty were on Guam Island, Midway Island, and in The Philippines and Vietnam. After returning to the US, he was stationed in Louisiana and at the Duluth Air Base. 

In 1965, he married Sandra (Sandy) Dahlman at the Immanuel Lutheran Church in Clarissa. They lived in Alexandria, LA, and Duluth while he finished his military service.

      After the service, he attended St. Paul Barber College and barbered in Fridley. They lived in St. Paul, Fridley and Blaine before moving to the 

family farm (which was named Meadowlawn Farms) in Clarissa in 1970 where they lived and thrived for 41 years. They wholeheartedly loved the farm and felt great pride in keeping it pristine in appearance while making a living as dairy farmers. Dean bought the barber shop in Clarissa from Gordon Johnson and barbered for 32 years, operating under the name of Dean’s Barber Shop. He also continued to farm throughout that time. They had 3 children - Michael, Marlo and Marcus. They sold the family farm to son Marcus before building their retirement home on 23 acres on the east side of Clarissa.

     Dean served as a school board member, a Todd County Commissioner, a church council member, Clarissa Commercial Club member, was a member of the Todd Area Trail Association for over 40 years , a Clarissa American Legion Member for over 50 years, and worked as a substitute mail carrier for 14 years. 

     He and wife Sandy built four homes around Clarissa (two for themselves and two for others) and a home on 2nd Crow Wing Lake in Hubbard County. They enjoyed their time at the lake for 30+ years surrounded by neighbors who became like family. Their other interests as a couple included motorcycling, snowmobiling, and traveling many places. Special trips were with the family to Europe in 1986, Hawaii, Alaska and to the tropics. 

     Dean had the gift of gab and loved visiting with everyone and anyone, which fit in perfectly with his profession as a barber - he had no problem keeping conversations going…. In his retirement, he would go to coffee with “the guys” and many times spend the rest of the day stopping at people’s homes to chat or checking on things at the family farm. He helped Marcus with odds and ends at the farm up until the last year. He may have moved off the farm, but a part of his spirit remained there. 

      He had an enormous, generous heart and was willing to lend a helping hand whenever it was needed. He had a love for the community of Clarissa and helped in any way that he could to promote its growth. He felt great pride for his family, which has grown to include 11 grandchildren and 9 great grandchildren. Taking them on rides on his many motorized “toys” when they were young was a highlight for him. If asked by his family to help with something, big or small, he would do everything in his power to help them.  

     He had great faith and looked forward to attending church each Sunday. He was always “doing” and rarely sat still; constantly thinking of a project he needed to complete or a place he wanted to go. He was a rock to wife Sandy as they walked side by side together for 61 years. You could often hear her saying, “Dean, do something!”, because she knew he was right there for her no matter what. 

    On February 26, at the age of 82, Dean passed away at the Little Falls Health Services nursing home with Sandy at his side. He resided there for just three weeks. He fought a long battle with cancer since a diagnosis in 2000, and in recent years he also suffered greatly from Dementia. 

    Dean was a sparkling gem in this world and will be intensely missed by his family and those close to him.

     Dean is survived by wife Sandy; children, Michael (Christine) Meiners, Marlo (Ray) Benning and Marcus (Michelle) Meiners; grandchildren, Skyler (Hannah) Meiners, Carter (Maggie) Meiners, Sierra (Joshua) Wagner, Tate (Sabrina) Benning, Ashtyn (Jackson) Wollenburg, Tavin and Santana Benning, Madelynn and Mallory Meiners; step grandchildren Max and Joran Carlson; great grandchildren Vivian Meiners, Orlando, Anistyn, Palmer and Shyloh Wagner, Sonny Benning, Thayer, Callan and Raylee Wollenburg; sister Verneil Thompson; and brother David Meiners.

         He is preceded in death by his parents; infant brother Marlin, brothers Amber and Gorlynn Meiners; and sisters Roxanne Jensen, Shirley Gilb, Audrey Lawrence, and Randeen Murphy.

To send flowers to the family, please visit our floral store.