In memory of Paul Dean—May 3, 1943—November 15, 2019 Owner, Spiriterra Vineyards; Recipient, Roots of Peace Global Citizen Award

Paul and Shirley Dean attend the Roots of Peace gala in 2018

Please click here to make a donation in memory of Paul Dean

In 1997, the State of the World Forum was hosted in San Francisco, the same year that Roots of Peace was founded.  Shirley Dean, a mother of four, brought her children for a global education by leaders such as Jane Goodall, Mikhail Gorbachev, Walter Cronkite, Senator Alan Cranston, and others.  Together with my own four children, we were seeking to build a future where dialogue and diversity coexisted through peaceful conversations.

Shirley and Paul Dean moved from Greenwich, Connecticut and purchased over 60 acres in the hills above St. Helena in the Napa Valley.

When the vision for turning MINES TO VINES was launched, The Dean's were one of the first vintners to support the concept of transforming minefields into thriving vineyards and orchards worldwide.

Together, they both attended fundraisers hosted by Robert Mondavi and Miljenko 'Mike' Grgich to help us remove landmines in the vineyards of Dragalic, Croatia. These funds were matched by the U.S. Department of State, Office of Political Military Affairs, Weapons, Removal and Abatement (PM/WRA).

Over the years, The Dean's supported our Roots of Peace initiative by generously donating barrels of wine from their Spiriterra Vineyards--namesake 'Spirit of The Earth'.  We sold these bottles, so that additional funds could be raised to remove deadly landmines from vineyards and orchards worldwide.

On New Year's Day 2012, Shirley and Paul Dean joined us in The Holy Land to begin the year by planting the Roots of Peace.

Inspired by a young boy, Daniel Yuval, age 10, who lost his leg to a landmine during a rare snowfall in The Golan Heights, they decided to take action.  Together, they generously funded the removal of landmines in The Fields of Bethlehem--a Muslim Village located only four miles from where Jesus Christ was born.

Eight children had died in this field due to landmines which were left behind from the 1948 war.  Working with Daniel, we helped bring forth unanimous legislation at The Knesset for Humanitarian Mine Action.  

ABC7 News Anchor Cheryl Jennings and her husband Rick Pettibone traveled to Israel and Palestine to oversee the project.

When Israelis and Palestinians froze before the landmine removal project began, we joined hands and bravely took footsteps to eradicate the seeds of terror which remained buried in both the soil and soul for generations.

Shirley and Paul Dean have continued to generously donate funds for Vietnam, as we seek to turn MINES TO VINES in the former DMZ.  Our goal is to eradicate all explosive remnants of war in Quang Tri province by Earth Day 2020.  And, through the generosity of prominent California vintners like Spiriterra, the spirit of the earth will be reclaimed!