Mr. Deaner was born on July 11, 1936 in Danville, Pennsylvania, son of the late Haydn M. and Grace R. (Engle) Deaner. He was pre deceased by his brother, Dr. Richard Deaner of Dana Point, CA. Mr. Deaner was raised in Fall River, Massachusetts, and was a member of the Durfee High School graduating class of 1954. He received a Bachelor of Science Degree from Boston University in 1959.
Mr. Deaner served four years in the enlisted ranks in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve and three years on the active duty as a Lieutenant in the U.S. Navy. Upon completion of hid Navy service, he began a career in technical sales and management, and worked at AMP, Inc., The Stanwick Corp., NCR, and Beta Instrument Corp. In 1974 he was hired as Vice President, Sales, of the Holman Corp., a Washington, D.C. technical editing and publications company. In 1978, he was appointed President, a position he held until 1984. His marriage to Dorothy (Callahan) Deaner ended in divorce in 1983.
In 1985, Mr. Deaner entered the insurance business as a licensed agent in Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia. He was co-founder of the Deaner-Romney Insurance Agency in Vienna, Virginia. Later he founded CyberApp, Inc., a pioneer in online insurance services and corporate sponsor of the Association of Online Insurance Agents (AOIA).
In the early 1990s, he served as Executive Director of the Ferris Foundation for Graduate Education, a non-profit scholarship foundation affiliated with Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. Mr. Deaner was the Foundation’s chief representative to government, business and academic institutions in the United States, the Republic of Ireland and the UK Provence of Northern Ireland.
In 1995 he joined Meridian One Corp., a national business to business marketing firm located in Alexandria, Virginia. He retired from the company as Director of Human Resources in 2001, and moved to Florida.
He is survived by his wife Joan Dormer-Deaner of Graceville, Florida; daughters Kimberly Mathis of Hixon, Tennessee, Wendy Barentt of Lynn Haven, Florida; Victoria McDonald of Sugar and, Texas; a son Michael of St. Augustine, Florida, a sister-in-law Beverly Deaner of Dana Point, California, nephews Ross and Bruce Deaner, and niece Karen (Deaner) Corbett. Survivors also include grandchildren Jenny Gibbs, Tiffany Bertram, Jacob Kelley, and step granddaughters, Catherine Mersey and Skyler Prall.
Mr. Deaner was a member of the United Methodist Church of Graceville, FL, the NRA, American Legion Post No. 40 in Danville, Pennsylvania, Reserve Officers Association, and a former rifle/pistol Range Officer at the Izaak Walton League in Centreville, Virginia.
His ashes will be interred at the Odd Fellows Cemetery in Danville, PA and the Oak Grove Cemetery in Fall River, MA.
Brown Funeral Home & Blue Lake Crematory of Chipley, FL is in charge of arrangements. Family and friends may sign the online register at www.brownfh.net