A towering front of gray clouds swept in from the west, stopping short of the football field at Elkhorn Area High School, on a dreary, late spring evening May 21.
Hundreds of people shuffled into the stands there, a small table, microphone and stand adorned in purple and gold, representative of a community dealing with an incredible sense of loss – and gratitude.
They faced a palpable mix of emotions that weighed like a looming, soil shifting thunderstorm.
Dean Wilson, 79, died May 10 at Aurora Lakeland Medical Center. The memorial was set up to not only honor Wilson, but allow those in attendance to speak of how Wilson had impacted them.
Some talked about sports. Some talked about math and his lifelong commitment to teaching it. Some cried and many laughed.
Wilson made it his life’s mission to coach, teach math and love. Generations of students passed through his classroom, and inside and outside the lines where he graciously led the way, surrounded by his family at every turn. The gridiron at EAHS offered countless memories of a lifetime of achievements.
But set aside the 102 wins, seven Southern Lakes Conference titles, 12 WIAA playoff berths and even the three state semifinal appearances, and you saw a man whose primary philosophy was to help others.
Steve Simonson, offensive coordinator for Elkhorn during that same era in the 1990s said that, “whether you were an athlete, an assistant coach or a student in one of his math classes, Dean had a unique way of making you want to be great at what you were doing.
“He and I talked a lot over the years about knowing what you believed in as a coach,” said Simonsen after the memorial. “If you wanted to have success you had to stay true to those beliefs.”
That innate ability to lead and encourage people in his own unique way featured a blend of amplified volume, and lots of humor. Both of which, when applied at the right time, helped him anticipate while making the right calls in big games more often than not.
And along the way his steadfast approach helped his students navigate life’s situations with a sense of gratitude, too.
Randy Ridout, defensive coordinator for Elkhorn under Wilson in the mid-to-late 1990s, talked about the mind Wilson brought to the field.
“We played Jefferson for our first conference championship together,” Ridout said. “I read that Jefferson had returned a kickoff for a touchdown in every game. I watched film and analyzed why. I found they put nine huge linemen and two very good running backs on their return team. I told Dean and said, ‘This is brilliant. We should do this.’
“Dean just looked at me and said, ‘Okay, I wonder if they can catch,’” Ridout added. “We kicked six onside kicks, recovered five of them, and beat a more talented team 31-13. Reducing the game to the basics won the game.”
For Wilson, a 2012 Wisconsin Football Coaches Hall of Fame Inductee, life was simple. But it required attention to detail, execution and consistency. Nowhere were these more evident in his approach than on the sidelines, in math class, as the athletic director, and in the city recreation department. He often deferred to his assistants and was quick to pass on the credit to anyone but himself.
Todd Ghilani, a 2000 All State lineman who played under Wilson from 1997 to 1999 who’s the current football coach at Elkhorn used three words to describe his legacy and the impact on him as a player and coach: personable, tough, and humble.
Dave Mogensen, also played under Wilson from 1997 to 1999, is the current head coach of the Iowa Barnstormers indoor pro football team.
“Coach Wilson had incredible empathy which allowed him to understand exactly what someone needed to be their best self,” Mogensen said. “Personally, he had a tremendous influence on the kind of man I became. He pushed me to become a coach because he saw something in me I didn’t know I had. There’s zero chance I’m sitting here as the head coach of the Iowa Barnstormers without the influence and support of Dean in my life.”
Wilson’s sense of pride for his home, his family, his teams and his students, was ceaseless. As it stated in his obituary, fittingly, when you think of him or when life calls for it, give a kid an encouraging pat on the back.
Travis Pipes is a 1999 graduate of EAHS, a former NFL writer and draft analyst for several Milwaukee area radio stations, and founder, program manager and on-air host at Double Coverage radio available at www.doublecoverageradio.com.
