Deane is married to Rosslyn has two daughters and is a grandfather. He was born anew in 1959 and after completing training as a carpenter and joiner, trained for the ministry. He was ordained in 1968 as a minister in the Methodist Church. He has served as a pastor in country and city churches. He served on the New Creation Teaching Ministry team for 13 years where he was an evangelist/teacher and was Executive Director for three years. He was senior Pastor at Coromandel Valley Uniting Church for 11 years, before re-locating to Clare in mid-north South Australia to provide pastoral oversight for country churches in the region.