Fred Joe Dees

Fred was born in Chickasha, Oklahoma and spent much of his childhood moving around the country with his parents. He served in the Navy from 1951 to 1955 on the destroyer USS Hazelwood during the Korean conflict.

After an honorable discharge from the Navy, he came to Arizona and began working as a draftsman at AiResearch in Phoenix. In 1960, he became a deputy sheriff with the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office, where he rose through the ranks from juvenile officer to patrolman to detective.

In 1969, Fred went to Vietnam with USAID, part of the State Department, as a police advisor for the Vietnamese police force. Fred spent four years in different parts of Vietnam in that capacity. In 1972 he married Dee, who was working in Vietnam as a civilian secretary for the U.S. Army.

During their time in Vietnam they were able to travel to many places in Asia, as well as to Australia, Bali, Greece, Israel and much of Europe.

They returned to Arizona in 1973 and a year later Fred was hired as the Town Marshall in Gilbert, Arizona. He then became the town’s first Chief of Police and served in that capacity for 24 years, as the town grew from a population of 3,000 to over 110,000. He had the challenging task of continually expanding the police department to keep up with the booming growth of the town.

Fred and Dee had two children, Joel and Jennifer, who both followed their dad’s footsteps in law enforcement. He retired in 1998, and in 2015, he and Dee moved to Mesa, Arizona where he spent his remaining years.

Fred is pre-deceased by his parents Archie Fred Dees and Hattie Darlene Dees, and survived by his wife, Dolores (Dee), his son, Joel Dees, daughter, Jennifer Crane (Mike), grandchildren, Connor, Kellen and Vivienne Crane, son Joseph McLeod, step-daughter Tracy Shinn, and step-son George Dees.

A memorial service will be held at a later time, and will be announced on this page when scheduled.

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