Person:Dean Blietz (1)

From the Fort Myers (FL) News-Press

Slain Fort Myers deacon doomed by own kindness

BY RACHEL MYERS

rmyers@news-press.com

Those who knew Dean Blietz would say he walked quietly, but with big footsteps that left lasting impressions.

They say the 60-year-old Fort Myers man's open heart and steady hand helped to guide countless foundering souls, elevated numerous worthy causes and ultimately shaped his bit of earth into a better place.

Ironically, it was one of those he toiled so tirelessly to reach who, police say, ultimately stole his life.

"The community has lost a beacon," said the Rev. Edward Galvin of St. Peter Carver Mission in Fort Myers, where Blietz was a deacon. "It has lost a man of deep faith, a man of good works and a man who truly modeled his life after Christ."

Blietz was found stabbed to death late Wednesday inside his Fairview Avenue home. A 26-year-old recently released ex-con, whom Blietz welcomed into his home, is charged with murder. Investigators were tipped off by two 911 hang-up calls from the residence - calls they believe that man, Anibal Mayor, made hours after Blietz died.

Detective Sgt. Scott Cain said Mayor turned himself in Thursday, offering a full confession. The motive, it appears, was robbery.

"That was one of the really hard things about this case," Cain said. "To hear about all the good things (Blietz) had done and all of his volunteer work and then to have it end this way."

Noted Maj. Doug Baker: "Violence is not just prone to those who run with the devil. It happens to good people, too."

Blietz was the 2006 runner-up for Lee County Citizen of the Year. It was well-known among those in his circle that he frequently welcomed men fresh from incarceration into his home to aid them in finding a job and readjusting to society.

As he revealed to a News-Press reporter a few months before his death, he considered jail stays as much "emotional incarceration" as they were physical.

Asked why he did it, he responded, "Because it needed to be done."

Still, his friends worried about him.

Bob Johns is a spokesman for Family Health Centers, a medical provider who treats people regardless of their ability to pay.

Blietz was a board member, and when he told Johns of his hands-on approach to prison ministry, Johns said it concerned him at first, but he trusted his friend's judgement about those he brought in.

While Mayor was weaving in and out of prison gates for burglaries, thefts and drug sales, Blietz was supporting second chances.

Carletha Griffin said for Blietz, it was "a calling." And it wasn't that he had been reformed himself and desired to return the favor: Blietz has no criminal record.

Griffin met Blietz in 2002, when he became a board member for the NAACP while she was president.

"Dean had such empathy for people," Griffin said. "A lot of people have the attitude when it comes to convicts that 'They made their bed, now they should lay in it.' Or if they do help, they do it for the recognition.

"Everything Dean did, he did from the the heart and without regard for color or creed or anything else."

Blietz lived in a predominately black neighborhood, had a doctorate in African Studies, and was working on another doctorate at Rice University, according to the Rev. Galvin.

Griffin and others had him on speed-dial, and he was usually the first one called if something needed to get done.

He was a regular inside the Stockade halls and at board meetings for the Lee County Homeless Coalition. Coordinator Janet Bartos said she had just nominated Blietz for the Jefferson Award for exceptional community service, which he was slated to receive next month.

"He never looked down on anyone," Bartos said. "He saw the good and the potential in every person he encountered."

Crystal Jarek is supervisor of the Guardian ad Litem program for youth in the child welfare system, where Blietz volunteered the last three years.

He was a vital vein to the operation, she said, never turning down a case.

"If you could say one thing about Dean, it was that he believed in the goodness of people," Jarek said. "That was what his life was all about."

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Gazette, The (Cedar Rapids-Iowa City, IA) - July 7, 2008

Dean Blietz was born Oct. 24, 1947, to Giles and Dorothy Blietz, of Monona, Iowa. He died July 2, 2008. Dean is survived by his daughter, Tara Blietz; three brothers, Roger (Helen) Blietz, Rickey (Laurie) Blietz and Kevin Blietz; and one sister, Marleen (Gary) Moritz. He is also survived by several nieces, nephew, great-nieces, great-nephew, and cousins. He was preceded in death by his parents; one brother, Gary Blietz; and one sister, Elaine Blietz. Dean joined the Navy in 1968 and he was honorably discharged in 1974. That same year he received a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Iowa. Before receiving his degree from the University of Iowa, he was a Brother of the Holy Cross at Notre Dame. In 1976, he earned a second Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Alabama in Birmingham. Dean received his master's degree in Pastoral Theology from the Blessed Edmund Rice School (Barry University) in 2000. At the time of his death, he was working on a master's degree in Black Catholic Studies from Xavier University in New Orleans and a doctorate in Ministry from Barry University in Miami Shores, Fla. Dean worked as a surgeon's assistant in cardiac surgery in Grand Rapids, Mich., from 1976 to 1987 and in Fort Myers, Fla., from 1987 to 1996. From 1996 to 2001, he worked for Bon Secours in Venice, Fla., as a physician's assistant for its Care-A-Van program, which provided much needed health care services to migrant workers and the underprivileged in the communities. At the time of his death, he served as the director of evangelization at St. Peter Claver Catholic Mission, and worked for Vista Behavioral Crisis Services and Health Services of Central Florida. Over the past several years, Dean tirelessly served the community through his volunteer work. He supported and donated his time to several organizations, including the Resource Network for Offenders, Neighborhood Accountability Board, Restorative Accountability Board, HIV/AIDS Leadership Commission for the National Black Catholic Congress, Cultural Competency for VISTA, Catholic Campaign for Human Development, Homeless Coalition, board of directors for Family Health Centers, Executive Committee of the Lee County Branch of the NAACP, Shady Rest Care Pavilion, the Guardian Ad Litem Program, Voices for Kids, St. Peter Claver Catholic Mission, and his own organization, CHAINS Inc. In 2004, Dean established CHAINS Inc., (Caring Has Always Initiated Necessary Services) to provide services for ex-offenders. Dean's dream in life was to create a network of resources that would help ex-offenders re-enter the community and become productive members of society. Dean received daily letters and phone calls from friends and strangers who were incarcerated throughout the United States. He provided these individuals with spiritual and emotional support by answering every letter he received. He also spent much of his time writing letters to and on behalf of death row inmates throughout the country. Out of all of his accomplishments, Dean was proudest of his work with the children in his church community and through the guardian program. The youth of his community who were so briefly touched by him will now be counted on to carry on his legacy. Dean will be deeply missed by his family and friends who will carry him in their hearts until the time when they will be together again. In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting that donations be made to St. Peter Claver Catholic Mission, c/o Father Ed Galvin, 3681 Michigan Ave., Fort Myers, FL 33916.