Dean Yackley

Dean Arthur Yackley, 83, of Fergus Falls, passed away on Tuesday, March 31, 2026, at his residence.

There will be a memorial service in Dean's honor at 2 p.m. on Thursday, April 9, 2026, at Grace United Methodist Church in Fergus Falls. There will be a visitation from 12-2 p.m.

Dean Arthur Yackley was born on July 21, 1942, in Canby, Minnesota, to Arthur and Bernice (Gubrud) Yackley. He was raised in Canby and graduated from Canby High School in 1960. After graduation, Dean enlisted in the United States Navy, where he served from 1960-1966. While in the Navy, he met the love of his life, Janet Key. He was so devoted to wooing her he carried a full set of china he had purchased for her overseas, from station to station until back to the mainland. During their courtship much time was spent writing letters to each other, and dancing at the Cinnamon Cinder with Janet’s childhood friend, Bonnie Kay.

On October 15, 1966, Dean and Janet were married in San Pedro, California. The couple was blessed with 3 daughters- Kelly, DeeAnne, and Teresa. Over the years, Dean and Janet lived in Northern California, where Dean worked at Libby Owens Ford Glass Plant; then to Colorado, where he worked at Coors Brewing. In 1976, Dean and his family moved to Fergus Falls, where Dean owned and operated Otter Country Electric-a business he started. Many summers he would wrangle his daughters under cabins, or in attics to pull wires for him on a job. He wired two homes Janet and he built and loved: one on Jewett Lake and the other in the country by Wall Lake. He cherished both properties. He made his last home a sanctuary for wildlife and spent many hours watching it from his sunroom. It gave him great pleasure. For the last 10 years, Dean has served as a sub-contractor for Ottertail Power.

Dean was an avid outdoor sportsman, with fishing being at the top of his list. He spent countless hours with various lifelong friends and family members in outdoor excursions. From hunting ducks and geese in his earlier years, to hunting pheasants in South Dakota, fishing for walleye up at Lake of the Woods “brown jewel”, questing for redfish and trout in southern Texas, beautiful elk in Colorado, caribou in Canada, numerous deer on his property with grandkids and friends, mornings and evenings on local Minnesota lakes and the Ottertail River in the never-ending quest for the next fish, and fishing at Stockton Lake in Missouri for walleye and crappie.

Dean and Janet would spend their last winters in Texas on the Aurora Colorado River. He also enjoyed anything historical. He would be willing to take detours to ferret out unique history. He did some traveling with family too which included trips to Florida, Disneyworld, Yellowstone, Colorado, California, Hoover Dam in Las Vegas, Hawaii, a cruise to Jamaica, Cozumel, Grand Cayman. He enjoyed watching sports and cheering on the Minnesota teams. He also spent a large swath of time watching various grandkids at sporting events, plays, graduations, and music recitals.

Sadly, on March 31, 2026, Dean passed away at his residence at the age of 83 years.

Dean is survived by his wife, Janet; daughters, Kelly (Dennis) Kraft, DeeAnne Yackley (fiancé, Khalil Jordan), and Teresa (Carey) Carpenter; grandchildren, Kyle (Hailey) Kraft, Carlene Kraft (fiancé, Logan Jurek), Kalen (Caeli) Kraft, ShaiAnne (Ozelle) Bowen, Jarrett Carpenter, Faith Carpenter (fiancé, Jay Brown), Chance Carpenter, Grace Carpenter, Cayden Carpenter, and Genavieve Carpenter; great-grandchildren, Hazel, Fletcher, Ada, Zoelle, Wilson, Jade, and Sylvie; brother, Jim Yackley; and sister, Ramona Hennen.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Arthur and Bernice; sister-in-law, Ann Yackley; and brother-in-law, Denny Hennen.