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Dean was born in St. Louis, Missouri on April 14, 1958 to Maurice and Billy Dean Stuart. His birth name was Billy Dean Stuart II. Dean and his adopted father (Nathan Keirn Leher) mother Maurice and sister Michele, moved to Pennsylvania when he was seven years old. He graduated from Altoona Area High School in 1976. He later moved to the west coast and discovered a love of sail boating, fishing, and warm weather. Known to his family as Dean, and to his friends as JD, Deano, and James Dean; he lived his life working hard in various fields including marble and stone restorations and finished contracting. Dean was a man of many talents. He loved restoring old buildings and could get nearly any car or bike operating again with his mechanical abilities. Dean was a history buff with an amazing memory for historical facts. He truly enjoyed meeting new people and sharing stories of life with them regardless of age, ethnicity, or social status. Dean was very generous. If you were in need and he had it, he would give it to you with no strings attached. Dean was preceded in death by his first wife, Michelle (Lawruk) Leher, mother of his surviving daughter Amanda Leigh (Leher) Doehrer, of Altoona, Pennsylvania. He also leaves behind a son Christopher Dean Leher of Seattle WA, and son Derrian Slate Leher of California and four grandchildren. He was also preceded in death by his father Billy Dean Stuart, adopted father Nathan Keirn Leher, half sister Amber Stuart and half brother Keirn Leher. His surviving siblings are sister Michele Dodson, half siblings Dana (Leher)Carlson, Jason Leher, Michael Stuart, Tina (Stuart)Abdullah, Mark Stuart, Laura Stuart and Ian Stuart. Biogift.org has fulfilled Dean’s wish to donate his remains to science and achieve his final gift for the betterment of humanity.