Growing up in New London, Nancy and Bruce Dean enjoyed countless hours at Ocean Beach. “People from all walks of life enjoy it for days on end—it’s inclusive and diverse, two of the hallmarks of a healthy community that remain at the heart of New London,” noted Bruce Dean.

It’s a philosophy that the Deans’ parents, Harold and Miriam conveyed. Both, in their own ways, tried to make New London a better place. Harold Dean, who died in 2002 at the age of 92, was a district attorney. He assisted those in need, particularly teens headed down the wrong path. Dean’s mother, Miriam, who passed away in 2011 at the age of 91, worked as a substitute teacher and a literacy volunteer.

Harold worked with his brothers (Izzy and Louie) at Izzy’s at the old Ocean Beach. Their savings went to put him through college and law school. Miriam was a Connecticut College graduate who (after she married a “townie”) kept that connection alive for the remainder of her life. They would be thrilled to know that two of their seven great grandchildren are 5th generation New Londoners.

Since 2003, Nancy and Bruce have continued their parents’ work through the donor-advised Harold & Miriam Dean Fund at the Community Foundation by making grants for programs that target “at-risk youth” through literacy and arts programming.