Karen Wessel certainly will be watching the national ESPN telecast that night. At 66, she remains a rabid Bulls fan, even though she’s resided in Alaska for more than 40 years. Her house in Homer is filled with what she calls a “shrine” to her dad and Chicago’s NBA team featuring Bulls books, hats, jerseys, shirts, cards, key chains and other pictures. She doesn’t have any tattoos, but Wessel hasn’t ruled out getting a Bulls logo permanently inked on her ankle.
Wessel recently retired as principal at Homer Flex High School, an alternative school for at-risk students. She frequently would tell the students about her dad.
“It was a big deal when I told the kids that my dad drew the logo for the Chicago Bulls because it helped me relate to them, especially the ones who played basketball,” she said. “And, at an alternative school, I would tell students to believe in themselves and that they could do anything they wanted to do because that was my dad’s story.”
Dean Wessel’s obituary in the Tribune noted he first picked up a crayon when he was 2 years old and “was thrilled with art” the rest of his life.
Money, his daughter said, was never his main priority.
“The story of him doing the logo as a favor to his friend he coached Little League with and getting nothing in return was who he was,” Karen Wessel said.
The logo has been a winner, appearing at or near the top of NBA logo rankings over the years.
“This thing is perfect, right down to the red tips of the horns,” wrote Zach Lowe, who named the Bulls logo best in the league in a ranking for grantland.com. “Look at that glare and those flaring nostrils!”
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