Dean G. Vallas Obituary

Dean George Vallas, 72, most recently of Norwalk, Connecticut, passed away on April 24, 2026.

Born in New York City, New York, he was the son of George Dean Vallas (who passed in 1989) and Mary Vallas. He attended Norwalk High School and studied at Fairfield University before beginning a journalism career with Time Magazine.

Recruited directly out of school for his writing ability, Dean's first assignment out of college took him from Connecticut to San Francisco in the 1970s. He served as a war correspondent for a number of national outlets, accepting dangerous and complex assignments to produce firsthand reporting, including on the assassination of President Anwar Sadat, the Iran-Iraq War, and other conflicts. Dean served as Beirut bureau chief for NBC and Mideast bureau chief for CNN, and spent almost a decade living across the region, including in Cyprus, Egypt, Lebanon and Jordan, where he met Mary, his future wife.

Upon returning to the United States, Dean helped develop and contributed to the television program Hard Copy, and directed segments for TLC and the History Channel. Over his career in journalism, he interviewed numerous prominent figures, including the Dalai Lama, Ayatollah Khomeini, Yasser Arafat, Donald Trump, and others. He also authored several books and scripts.

Dean moved to Los Angeles in the 1990s and transitioned into a second career in technology as a computer programmer. He taught himself multiple programming languages and concluded his career as a senior systems architect.

Dean maintained a lifelong commitment to reading and learning. Despite a broad range of professional accomplishments, he often understated his work within his family. His sons remember him as intensely intelligent and his own harshest critic.

He was also a motorcycle enthusiast and avid woodworker, spending several years restoring a 1967 Chris-Craft wooden boat.

He returned to Norwalk in his final year and is survived by his mother, Mary; his children, George and Paul; his niece, Anastasia; his grandchildren, Claire and Emma (twins), Dean and Nick; and his sister, Nanette.

He was predeceased by his son, Nick Vallas, whose death in 2011 had a profound impact on him.

He is also survived by his former wife, Mary, who was with him in his final moments.

He was cremated and memorialized in a private service.