Dean Oberle Legacy Fund
Dean Oberle passed away on December 30, 2024, after a brief, but courageous battle with cancer.
The Dean Oberle Legacy Fund was established in 2025 to honour and celebrate Dean’s love of sport and his contributions to officiating.
Dean was a longtime official with the Ontario Volleyball Association (OVA) and the Ontario Baseball Association (OBA) / Baseball Canada. A lifelong lover of all things athletic, being involved at a high level in both sports brought him incredible joy and immense satisfaction. He absolutely loved his work. He gave so much to each sport, and received so much in return.
Even more importantly, it was the people with whom Dean worked and interacted that fed his passion to give so much to officiating. In particular, his roles in supervising and developing officials, while also enhancing the experiences of those involved in both sports, took his impact to an even higher level.
The Dean Oberle Legacy Fund was created to honour and celebrate the characteristics and qualities that Dean used to create this impact. They include:
His love of the sport
His desire to learn with and from others and enhance his skills
His willingness to mentor others and help them learn and grow/develop
His commitment to teamwork/collaboration/community amongst fellow officials
His positive attitude / positive impact on others / constant optimism
Dean Oberle Memorial Scholarships will be awarded annually to athletes and officials who exemplify the attributes above, and who use these attributes to impact those around them in the sport, in the same way Dean did. In this way, his impact continues.
Dean Oberle Development Funds will be distributed annually to support personal growth for officials in developing their skills, in serving the officiating community, and in enhancing their positive impact on their fellow officials and the sport in general. In this way, his impact continues.
If you would like to learn more about the Dean Oberle Legacy Fund, please contact WRCF at 519-725-1806 or info@wrcf.ca.
