Daddy was the youngest of four - Aunt Jane, Uncle Bill, Aunt Katherine and Daddy. In 1933, Uncle Bill, the father of 3-year-old Katchie and 15-month-old Billy, contracted polio, which paralyzed his chest muscles. He was kept alive for over 24 hours by friends and family administering artificial respiration while the call went out for an iron lung. One was found in Houston and Bill was on his way in an ambulance when he died near San Angelo. He was 26.
Daddy had been dispatched to Fort Worth to pick up some serum (apparently made from the blood of recovered patients), but it was administered too late to help.
Pecos High School still has an award for a junior boy who excels in academics and athletics named the Bill Dean Memorial Award.
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