Dean Albert Neitz

Dean Albert Neitz

September 19, 1928 – May 17, 2019

Longtime newspaper publisher Dean Albert Neitz, 90, died on Friday, May 17, 2019 at his home in Philipsburg surrounded by family.

Born on September 19, 1928 in Philipsburg, Dean was the son of Roy and Vera (Norton) Neitz. After graduating from Granite County High School in 1946, Dean earned a bachelor's degree in zoology from Montana State University.

Dean and Trilby Horrigan were married on July 9, 1955 in Philipsburg. They have three children, Frank, Sydney and Van.

Dean grew up in the newspaper business and worked with his father as a young man at the family-owned Philipsburg Mail. After college, he went to work alongside his father at the print shop and went on to take over publication and printing of the Philipsburg Mail after his father's death.

He ran the Philipsburg Mail for 18 years before expanding to Anaconda, where he opened the Print Shop on Cedar Street in 1968. Dean founded The Anaconda Leader and published its first issue on December 17, 1970. He started another newspaper, the Whitehall Ledger, in the early 1980s.

Dean sold the Philipsburg Mail in 1993 and the Whitehall Ledger several years later. In the early 2000s, Dean purchased an eight-unit press to print full-color editions of several local and regional publications throughout southwest Montana – including the Leader, The Philipsburg Mail, the Whitehall Ledger, the Silver State Post and the Butte Weekly – as well a variety of commercial jobs.

Dean was a long-time member of the Anaconda and Philipsburg Chambers of Commerce, of the Rotary clubs of both Anaconda and Philipsburg and of the Montana Newspaper Association. He was a past president of the airport board for Riddick Field in Philipsburg, past master of the Flint Creek Masonic Temple, a long time member of the Flint Creek Valley Bank Board of Directors and an original board member for Discovery Ski Basin. The Montana Newspaper Association recognized Dean with its Master Editor/Publisher Award in 1995, the Anaconda Chamber of Commerce named Dean Citizen of the Year in 2011 and the Philipsburg Chamber of Commerce named Dean and Trilby as the grand marshals of Flint Creek Valley Days in 2015.

Dean was a passionate pilot, a hobby that encouraged his mechanical mind and challenged his abilities to fix just about anything. He also enjoyed skiing at Discovery Basin and boating and swimming at Georgetown Lake with a close community of friends from the Boat Club. Dean deeply loved his hometown of Philipsburg. He was both doggedly committed to his career and steadfastly devoted to his family, as well as particularly fond of his dogs.

He made the 62-mile round trip from his home in Philipsburg to Anaconda every day until he retired last year, when his son Van took over daily operation of The Anaconda Leader.

Dean is preceded in death by his parents, Roy and Vera; stepmother Eunice (Eagle); and brothers Vernon and Jack.

He is survived by his wife of 63 years, Trilby (Horrigan); sons, Frank and Van; daughter Sydney (Brian) Petersen; grandchildren, Taite, Megan and Lynsey Petersen; several nieces and nephews and many long-time friends and colleagues.

Masonic Graveside Services will took place Saturday, May 25, 2019 at the Philipsburg Cemetery.