Dealey was a Thirty-third-degree Scottish Rite Mason, Knight Templar, Shriner, and member of the Red Cross of Constantine. He was close friends to President LBJ. Dealey had ownership in the Military Industrial Complex. He was a Presbyterian and Democrat. Dealey Plaza in Dallas is named for him. The New York Times called him the dean of American publishers. He died at his home in Dallas on February 26, 1946, of a coronary occlusion.