Physical education teacher Doug Dean loved to teach children about good sportsmanship and how to always do their best.

”He was very engaged and active when it came to his students,” said his wife, Kathi Dean. ”Kids were his passion.”

Parents, teachers and administrators from High Lakes Elementary School, where he recently worked, want to create a memorial that promotes and represents what Dean taught. Dean was 54 when he died in May 2005 of cancer.

”He not only taught fitness, but character,” said Cheryl Stewart, a parent who is a part of the memorial effort. ”He was a huge supporter of kids and that’s the message we want to send out in the memorial.”

High Lakes Elementary School will be raising $2,000 that will be used to purchase fitness and physical education equipment and memorial plaques for the two playground areas at the school.

The equipment, such as pull-up bars and balance beams, will be used for recess and PE classes.

The school will take donations up until the last day of the school year. The equipment will be installed some time this summer.

A memorial dedication service will take place early next school year, Stewart said.

The school will also be raising money by putting on a Doug Dean Memorial Fun Run at 4 p.m. on June 1. Anyone who enters can make a contribution to the memorial fund.

The fun run is modeled after the one Dean created several years ago for one of his former students at Kingston Elementary, Ben Evans, who drowned in Tumalo Creek in 1998.

Dean worked as the PE teacher at High Lakes for five years. Before that, he worked at Bear Creek Elementary, Kingston Elementary and Kenwood Elementary, which is now Highland Magnet School.

Steven Hill, principal of High Lakes, said Dean had the right balance of discipline and humor when it came to running his classroom. He said he remembered seeing about 60 of Dean’s students sitting quietly during roll call, because Dean expected good behavior.

”He never called me to tell me about students misbehaving,” said Hill, who has been the principal for four years. ”Kids liked and respected him.”

Dean came up with different activities to make fitness fun for his students. Students played hockey, wall ball and basketball.

He created games like dollar shots, where the first student who shoots a basketball in a hoop gets a dollar.

Tristan Simoneiu, 10, a fourth-grade student at Highland School, said he remembered that Dean always encouraged him to do his best. He said he remembered doing gymnastics in Dean’s class. He said Dean would always incorporate new moves made up by the students into the routine.

”He would say, ‘That’s a good idea, let’s do that too,’” Tristan said. ”I really liked that. He was the best PE teacher.”

Fourth-grader Emma Malm-quist, 10, said she remembered Dean’s sense of humor most. She said he would play with a tennis racket as if it was a guitar and would always have a joke for students whenever they asked to go to the bathroom.

”He would hold out his hand and say, ‘That would be $20,’” she said. ”Or he would say he would take away our birthday and cake and ice cream.”

Kathi, who is a fourth-grade teacher of the Talented and Gifted Program at Highland School, said the students remember him being stern, but fun.

”He believed in direct instruction,” she said.

While at High Lakes, Dean created Open Gym, which was like child care where kids could go before and after school to play games and do activities while their parents were at work.

”He did it for free,” Hill said. ”It was his way of giving back to the community.”

Anyone who is interested in donating to the memorial fund can make checks payable to High Lakes Elementary, Doug Dean Memorial Fund. Donations can be mailed in or dropped off at the school at 2500 N.W. High Lakes Loop Bend, OR 97701. For more information, contact the school at 322-5200.