B. Dean Taylor

Dean Taylor passed away on June 9, 2025 at his home in Manhattan, Kansas. He was born in Pawhuska, Oklahoma on October 5, 1933 to Lee and Alice (Neal) Taylor.

Dean was a proud member of the Manhattan High School class of 1952. He and his high school sweetheart and the absolute love of his life, Shirley Jean Wickham, were married for nearly 69 years. It was rare to see one of them without the other.

He held many positions in his long and varied work career including Manager at Manhattan Laundry and Cleaners, Spic and Span Laundry in Aggieville, Assistant to Lud Fiser at the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce where he assisted in bringing McCall Pattern Company to Manhattan. He was hired away by McCall’s where he held several Management positions including a 3 year stint as Director of Operations of their England branch in Macclesfield, England. Later, he and Shirley owned and operated The Palace Card and Gift Shop in Aggieville for over 20 years. His last job was at Hy-Vee as the Director of First Impressions making sure everyone felt welcomed when they walked in the door. He loved making people feel seen and appreciated.

He was a lifelong member of the Chamber of Commerceand was chosen for the Volunteer of the Year Award in 2000, the Elks Lodge where he was a former Exalted Ruler and Rotary Club where he was the Sergeant-at-Arms for many years.

He loved Manhattan and enjoyed going to ribbon cuttings and learning about new businesses in our community. His last volunteer job was assisting his daughter at PEO Chapter IL’s Taste of the Ville fundraiser on Saturday June 7th where he greeted attendees at Varsity Donuts. He may or may not have slipped a few times and said “Welcome to The Palace” when past customers came through the door. He had his 90th birthday celebration at Varsity Donuts and he considered that his memorial service. He was thrilled that so many past employees, former Aggieville business people, friends and family were there and that he got to attend his memorial in person.

Above all Dean was a family man. Nothing made him prouder than being a husband, Dad, Granddad, Great Grandpa and Uncle. He made each of us feel like we were the most special person in the world with his big hugs and welcoming smile.

Dean was preceded in death by his parents, his brother Robert Taylor, his daughter Sandra Bernasek and his wife Shirley.

He is survived by his son in law, Steven Bernasek, Plano, Texas, his daughter, Christy (Steve) Kimball, Manhattan, his sons Gregory (Faith) Taylor, Kansas City, Missouri and Bryan (Rhonda) Taylor, St. Joseph, Missouri, six grandchildren living in England, Ireland, Canada, Missouri, Spain and New York City and eight great grandchildren.

Cremation has taken place and a family service and inurnment will be held at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, you can donate to the Dean Taylor Memorial Fund through the Irvin-Parkview funeral site. The family requests that there be no flowers.