Sean Dean, Mets security worker from Freeport, dies from COVID-19 complications
A general view as the Mets play against the Marlins in the third inning during the second game of a doubleheader at Citi Field on Aug. 5, 2019. Credit: Jim McIsaac
David Wright remembered Sean Dean’s jokes and his ability to make people smile. Jay Horwitz recalled how Dean would do anything for the Mets in his role with the security department for the last 16 years. Above all, though, he was remembered a family man – devoted to his wife and his two young girls.
So when Dean, 52, of Freeport, succumbed to complications from COVID-19 Saturday, the loss was a devastating blow – one of many in this last year.
"The COVID stats became even more real for me today," Horwitz wrote on Twitter. Dean "was always there for anyone in the organization. No favor was too big for him…No stat can measure this kind of heartache."
Dean contracted the virus in December and began a steep decline, and was eventually put on a ventilator. He is survived by his wife, Melissa, whom he met while a security supervisor for the team, and his two daughters, Brianna, 11, and Emma, 9. Now Horwitz has started the "Sean Dean Memorial Fund" on GoFundMe in the hopes of easing some of the financial burden. As of Sunday afternoon, it had raised close to $25,000.
"The last couple days I’ve been reminiscing about the good times and laughs I’ve been fortunate enough to share with Sean over the years," Wright wrote in an email. "It brings a smile to my face even in this incredibly difficult and heartbreaking time. Sean loved his girls (Melissa, Brianna and Emma) dearly and I hope they know the tremendously positive impact their husband [and] dad had on the people around him. I’m thankful I had the opportunity to call him a friend."
Added Horwitz: "Sean Dean was a friend to so many. He would do anything for you! No favor too big, no request ever not filled… Just as Sean was there for his family and friends, his friends want to be there for him and his family."
Laura Albanese is a reporter, feature writer and columnist covering local professional sports teams; she began at Newsday in 2007 as an intern.
