C. Dean McCreight, 87 of Aledo, died Saturday, December 3, 2022, at Mercer Manor, Aledo. Visitation will be held from 4 to 6 p.m., Thursday, December 8, at Speer Funeral Home, Aledo. Private family graveside services with Military Honors will be held at Aledo Cemetery. Memorials may be made to the Mercer County VFW or the Aledo American Legion.
Charles Dean was born on October 11, 1935, in Aledo, Illinois to Beard and Waunita (Foster) McCreight. He was a 1953 graduate of Aledo High School. Dean served his country in the United States Army. Dean married Mary Lou Schmidt on January 25, 1958, in Edgington, Illinois.
At his heart, Dean was a farmer and farmed on the family Centennial farm in the Sunbeam/Ohio Grove Township area, prior to retiring from the Illinois Department of Transportation in 1998. He continued to be active in his community by driving for Martin Grain, School Bus for Aledo School District, and for Sponsler Trucking and other area farmers.
In his spare time, Dean loved camping and wintering in Texas. He enjoyed NASCAR and having a homecooked meal and a good conversation with the meal. Dean never met a stranger and would always have a story to tell around the ever-present toothpick. He loved going to all his grandkids and great-grandkids events and cherished the time spent with Jason restoring his old John Deere 70. Dean and Mary Lou were members of Sunbeam United Presbyterian Church.
Those left to cherish his memory include his wife: Mary Lou; daughters and sons-in-law: Sherie and Randy Sackville and Pam and Tony Myers, all of Aledo; grandchildren: Kelly and Jason Kellett, Lindsay and Rob McKay, Amanda and Ben Miller, and Brandi and Megan Myers; and great-grandchildren: Evan, Carson, Cameron, and Easton “Squeak” Kellett, Lexie and Brynn McKay, and Ceola and Townsend Miller. Dean was preceded in death by his parents; a brother, Lane McCreight; and a sister in infancy.