Arthur Pfefer

Dean Benson Phillips biological father, Arthur (Artie) Pfefer, was a captain in the U.S. Army at the time of Dean’s birth. Artie was killed in a helicopter crash in the Pleiku province in Vietnam on July 25, 1969 — before he had ever met his son. In 1972, Dean's mother, DeeDee, married Edward (Eddie) Phillips, the chairman and CEO of Phillips Distilling Company. After the wedding, Eddie adopted Dean, who took his adoptive father’s last name.