Dean-Hey Heritage

Dad's Allis-Chalmers B Tractor with "Tex" on the front

Dad was praying about a tractor because he saw Pastor Abbas mowing the church lawn and sweating profusely. In 1969, Dad was upholstering a seat from Mylin's Agricultural Store. When Sam Mylin came to pick up the seat, Sam said the seat belonged to a 1953 Allis-Chalmers B tractor under which he was installing a Wood's 54' Mower Deck. Dad bought it for $900 and let WSDR radio station pay for it by mowing their station several years for $25 each time.

Dad mowed the church property and ours for 40 years. In 1997, Doug Kraiser, a church trustee, asked dad if he could use the mower to mow the church property while dad and mom went to Texas. Instead, Doug, who rebuilt tractors as a hobby, rebuilt and painted it, scripting "Tex" on the front.

Dad loved to ride the grandkids,
as much as they loved to ride

Grandpa & Seth

Dad's last summer, 2011
Very sick, but still enjoying his
Allis Chalmers and young people

40 Arborvitae

In Dad's memory the church planted 40 Arborvitae trees, perhaps a fitting memorial for his 40 years as groundskeeper at the church. (He also served as deacon, youth leader, school board member, choir member, occasional soloist, and Sunday School teacher.)


Time to sharpen mower blades. Always creative and a regular MacGyver at problem solving, Dad got too weak to grip his mower blades with one hand and loosen them with the other so he thought of setting the deck with blades down on the sidewalk to hold the blades while he loosened them with both hands now free.