Our Namesake, Dean Leaman
Dean Leaman was born May 24,1925, in Rosenberg, Texas. His father opened Home Building and Lumber Company in 1931. As a young boy, he worked in the lumber yard and grew up learning the family business. After graduation from Rosenberg High School, he attended Baylor University and then in 1943, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy. He served during World War II as a nose gunner in a PB4Y2, seeing action in the South Pacific. Dean married Jackie Spencer from Simonton in 1947.
Dean and Jackie bought a small ready-mix concrete plant and two trucks near the lumber yard. This was the inception of Allied Concrete, now the largest independently-owned ready-mix concrete company in the Houston market.
Dean was unique in his ability to get along with people. It did not matter if you were the yard mower, truck driver, mechanic secretary, or in management, he was respected and loved. He was a man’s man. He demanded hard work, he could wither you with a look, but was the first to recognize good work and say a kind word. He was always on the lookout to try and help people, whether it was getting someone out of jail, helping to get a company car into the hands of an employee who needed one, or helping someone into a house that he knew would be a good deal; the stories are endless.
Through the decades, among other accomplishments, Dean was president of the Rosenberg Richmond Area Chamber of Commerce. He was a founding member and continuous leader of St. Marks Episcopal Church in Rosenberg. In 1978-1979, he became president of the National Lumber Dealers Association and, in 1986, was sworn in as president of the National Lumber Dealers Association. He worked tirelessly to bring Wharton County Junior College and the Texas State Technical Institute campus to this area. He served on the board of Polly Ryon Hospital and was on the board of the George Foundation until his passing in 2008.
Dean Leaman Junior High opened in August 2016. We hope to carry on Dean Leaman's legacy of hard work, kindness, generosity, and public service.