Nathan Dean was born on May 9, 1934 in Rockmart, Georgia. He was a graduate of Rockmart High School and Shorter College of Rome, Georgia. Dean also served in the Army from 1956-1958. An insurance salesman by profession, Dean served in the Georgia House of Representatives from 1963-1974 and as a Georgia State Senator from 1975 until 2005.

While a member of the state senate, Dean served as chairman of the Finance & Public Utilities Committee. He also served as secretary of the Interstate Cooperation Committee and as a member of the Appropriations and Rules Committee, Transportation Committee, and Reapportionment Committee. Dean has been recognized as the “Man of the Year” by the Rockmart Jaycees, the Bremen Rotary, and the city of Cedartown. Dean was also recognized as “Senator of the Year” by the Georgia Municipal Association, the Georgia Mental Health Association, and the Georgia Association for Retarded Citizens.

Following his retirement from politics, Dean returned to the insurance business where he ran the Nathan Dean Insurance Agency of Rockmart, Georgia. Dean and his wife, Norma Ann, had two children, Alan and Scott. He passed away on June 8, 2013.