Deane E. Deshon ’53

Deane Ellis Deshon, son of the late Mellen C. Deshon and Josephine Griffin Deshon, died unexpectedly on December 2 at Christiana Hospital in Newark, Del. He was 91 years old.

Born on Aug. 9, 1932, in Damariscotta, Maine, Deane was active in athletics at Rockland (Maine) High School, where he graduated in the class of 1950. Upon graduation, he entered the Maine Maritime Academy in Castine, Maine, and graduated with a B.M.S. degree in 1953. He then went to work as a deck officer on an oil tanker. On September 27, 1953, he married Caroline “Keebee” Senter of Rockland, and soon after going into the U.S. Navy they moved to Newport, R.I. At the end of 1953, he took his commission as an ensign on the Newport, R.I.–based destroyer U.S.S. Benham (DD 796).

After his two years in the Navy, Deane and Keebee returned to Rockland, where he took a position as City Recreation Director and coach of the town’s Pony League baseball team. Deane entered the University of Maine in Orono in 1958 and earned a B.S. degree in physical education in 1960. He played baseball for the University of Maine Black Bears and was the Yankee Conference batting champion in 1960. During his two years there, he also coached the Orono Junior High School basketball team and was assistant coach of Orono High School’s freshman football team. From 1960-62 while working toward a master’s degree in physical education at the University of Maryland, Deane worked as a graduate assistant within the phys. ed. college and coached the Terps’ freshman baseball team. In 1962, Deane moved with his wife and young family to Salisbury, Md., to start a position as Instructor of Health and Physical Education and coach of baseball and basketball at Salisbury State Teacher’s College.

At Salisbury State (now Salisbury University), Deane coached baseball for 33 years and basketball for eight years. He retired from coaching in 1997 as the 13th winningest baseball coach in NCAA Division III history. During his 34-year tenure on the faculty at Salisbury, he served as Director of Athletics for several years.

Deane Deshon’s career honors include:

• 1967 Maryland Intercollegiate Basketball Coach of the Year
• 1971 N.A.I.A. District 19 Baseball Coach of the Year
• 1979 N.A.I.A. District 3 Baseball Coach of the Year
• 1998 inductee, Salisbury (Md.) University Athletics Hall of Fame
• 2012 inductee, Eastern Shore (Md.) Baseball Hall of Fame
• 2013 inductee, Mid-Coast (Maine) Sports Hall of Fame

After retirement, Deane and Keebee enjoyed being “snowbirds,” spending winters and most of spring and fall in Winter Haven, Fla., and summers at their log cabin on Damariscotta Lake in Jefferson, Maine. In 2021, they moved from their Florida home to The Summit, a senior-living facility in Hockessin, Del.

Deane loved music, having collected a vast assortment of CDs of many genres. He also enjoyed his cars. Seems he never found the perfect one, as he owned more than 40 vehicles over his lifetime. He was a member of Bethesda United Methodist Church while in Salisbury, Md.

Deane was predeceased by his parents, brother David Deshon Sr., sister-in-law Helen Deshon, brother-in-law Richard Senter and his wife Mary, and nephews Scott Frankowski and David Deshon Jr. He is survived by Keebee, his wife of 70 years; sister Diane LaCroix (Bernard); oldest son Mark Deshon (Jo Anne) of Newark, Del., daughter Jeanine Rose (John) of Cortland, N.Y., and youngest son Brian Deshon (Jenny) of Carnesville, Ga.; three grandchildren—Erika Vincent (Garrett), Samantha Deshon (partner Devon Patterson), and Jordan Deshon; four great-grandchildren—Malik McCurry, Mariah Patterson, Serenity Patterson, and Jackson Vincent; niece Robin Kimberling (Chuck), nephew Jeff Deshon (Eeva), niece Sharon Millier (Richard), and nephew Eric Frankowski (Dana González).

A service of remembrance will be planned for a date in the future.