For as long as people have lived in Key West, so too have they died.
One local funeral home has handled final arrangements and helped Key West families navigate the hurdles and hardship of death since 1869.
That tradition continues today on Simonton Street, where Dean Lopez Funeral Home has comforted countless Key West families — the families we choose and the families we inherit.
The business we know today as Dean Lopez started four years after the Civil War, when Robert Morrow opened Morrow Undertaking at 619 Fleming St. Thirty years later, Morrow left the business to his younger protege, Benjamin Lopez, whose family name remains attached to the business more than a century later.
Through decades of births, deaths and marriages — and three former locations — the funeral home found its way to 418 Simonton St., where Bob Dean has operated it since 1958.
“According to our research, the funeral home is the oldest business still operating in the city of Key West, and we intend to keep it that way,” said Peter E. Batty, who recently bought Dean Lopez Funeral Home from Bob Dean. The sale includes the family-owned crematorium on Big Coppitt Key and Castillo & Thurston Mortuary on Truman Avenue, which is run by Aaron Castillo.
Batty is president and owner of United Atlantic Insurance Group, a co-founder of Gulf Atlantic Bank and owner of ICAMCO property management firm.
Long before those businesses, and right after high school, Batty attended the seminary, where he was studying to become a Roman Catholic priest. (His father, Peter Batty, is also a Key West businessman and deacon at The Basilica of St. Mary Star of the Sea.)
“After a few years, I felt that God had a bigger plan for me,” said the younger Batty, who grew up in downtown Key West. “I’ve known the Dean family most of my life. Bob Dean and my father have been close friends for as long as I can remember.”
As an altar boy at St. Mary’s, he worked alongside Bob Dean at many funerals.
“He always had an aura of respect around him. It’s difficult to describe. He was like a priest, a consultant and a psychiatrist, all wrapped into one. Everyone who knew him seemed truly impressed by him. He is the definition of what it means to be from Key West.”
The families have remained close for the past 20 years, as Batty started his own family and launched several businesses.
A year and a half ago, Dean asked if Batty would consider taking over Dean Lopez Funeral Home.
“It’s not something I had ever considered, but after speaking with my wife, Bob and some of the staff, I felt it was something I wanted to do,” Batty said. “I liked the business, but more importantly, I liked the impact a funeral director and staff can have on people in the hardest of times. I had watched Bob do it for so many families for so many years.
“I knew this was part of the bigger plan God had for me,” Batty said, acknowledging the challenges and responsibilities of the business.
He spent nearly a year shadowing Dean, learning the business, its intricacies and delicacies.
“Spending this time with Bob has been the best part of this experience,” Batty said. “And I won’t let that change. Bob Dean remains a huge part of everything and will be for as long as he wants. I just feel fortunate to be called a part of that family and honored to continue its legacy.
“I hope to one day look back and have someone to pass this business on to so they can serve our community the same way I must, and the same way Bob and his family have for over 150 years.”
