Charles S. Dean Sr., a former Citrus County Sheriff who later served in the Florida House of Representatives and Florida Senate, died on February 23, 2026. He was 86. His cause of death was undisclosed.
Dean led the Citrus County Sheriff’s Office for 16 years, serving from 1980 to 1996. A U.S. Marine, he built his public career around public safety and the day-to-day needs of residents in a fast-growing, largely rural part of Florida.
He moved into state government in 2002, winning a seat in the Florida House of Representatives and serving until 2007. He then served in the Florida Senate from 2007 to 2016, representing a multi-county region that included Citrus, Suwannee, Union, and part of Marion County.
In tributes after his death, Florida Senate President Ben Albritton remembered Dean as a strong advocate for Florida’s rural communities. Citrus County Sheriff David Vincent called him a “force of nature” and credited him with shaping generations of deputies while strengthening the Sheriff’s Office connection to the community.