Dean Wallace Cains, 59, of Lutz, Fla., died January 9, peacefully without pain, surrounded by all of his family members. He was born February 19, 1958, son of Marie and Ronald Cains, in the Bronx, N.Y. He grew up in Redding, graduating from Joel Barlow High School in 1976.

His wife, Lalani of Lutz; father, Ronald Cains and his wife Madeline of Charlotte, N.C.; siblings and their spouses, Jacqueline and Al Bibeau of Newtown, Valerie and Scott Moss of Sandy Hook, and Parker and Devon Cains of Charlotte; nieces, a dear friend, a dog, and his family of Milpitas, Calif., survive him.

His mother, Marie Cains, predeceased him.

Mr Cains was a true warrior; throughout years of working hard to maintain his health in the face of daunting challenges (e.g,. diabetes and organ transplantation issues), he never complained and maintained a positive spirit. Even in his last hours of consciousness, he would not give up.

Part of his strength of spirit, his loved ones say, came from the fact that he never took garbage from anyone. It cost him some money on a few occasions, but it kept his spirit and integrity intact. He was able to semi-retire some years ago as a successful financial broker. He wanted to help others who also faced health challenges, so he adopted a second career as a nurse. His goal was to become a nurse practitioner, but health issues struck him down before he could reach that certification.

As a nurse, there was none equal. A great illustration of that came when he was caring for one of the victims of the 2010 Haitian earthquake. A consummate chef, Mr Cains realized that the Haitian patient was not doing well on hospital food. He took the time to study Haitian cuisine and put together an elaborate and authentic home-cooked meal for the patient. He made enough to bring the meal to the evening hospital shift and share with all of the staff so that they would not tell anyone what he was doing (bringing in such a meal was against hospital policy). The patient told him that the meal was just like his mother would have made for him. When his patient was released to go back to Haiti, the patient said farewell to the staff and told them that Mr Cains was his new best friend, and that his care was key to his recovery.

That was only part of Mr Cains. He was an excellent photographer, and he loved cars. He could take apart his Alfa (and just about any car) and put it back together blindfolded. He was not a trained physical fighter like his friend, Jef, nor a violent person by nature, but he had raw courage. His loved ones say Mr Cains once knocked out a thief who attacked him and was trying to steal his Alfa by hitting the thief over the head with a torque wrench. He once stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Jef against five hoodlums in a dark parking lot; despite being outnumbered, they backed them down together without having to throw a single punch.

Mr Cains was proud of his Italian heritage and shared his grandmother's recipes with Jef. Every time Jef and his wife make sauce with Pomi tomatoes from Italy the way that Mr Cains taught him, he will think of him and his grandmother. Jef will miss their "Godfather" nights when they would make an Italian dish, drink good Italian wine, and watch that film while they quoted some of the lines from it.

Funeral services were private.