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Deane McMinn

1961 World Team manager

Deane Everett McMinn, 44, was the eldest of three children. He went to high school in Southern California and graduated from the University of Kansas with a degree in marine engineering. During World War II, he enlisted in the Navy and served on PT boats in the South Pacific. McMinn began skating in 1939 at age 23 and was a charter member of the Arctic Blades Figure Skating Club at Iceland in Paramount, Calif. After the war he became a regular at Iceland's Sunday night dance sessions with partner Elvira ("Betty") Sonnhalter. They were the 1951 Pacific Coast bronze dance champions. After competing in silver dance, McMinn began judging. He was active in the Southern California Inter-Club Association, served as chairman of the 1954 U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Los Angeles and began judging at the U.S. Championships after becoming a gold judge in 1957. U.S. Figure Skating nominated McMinn to its Executive Committee, and he held several chairman posts. In 1960, McMinn became a referee and a World judge, and judged at the 1960 Olympic Winter Games in Squaw Valley, Calif. In October 1960, Arctic Blades club members surprised him with a reception. He had just returned from the U.S. Figure Skating Executive Committee meeting, where he was named 1961 World Team manager.

Bio written by Patricia Shelley Bushman, author of Indelible Tracings