Joan Ann Dean, 91, of Amelia Island Plantation, Fla., passed away peacefully Monday, January 21, 2019 at her home surrounded by her loving family.
She was born November 24, 1927 in Brooklyn, N.Y. to the late William and Mary (Powers) Russell.
She grew up on Long Island and graduated magna cum laude from Long Island University with a degree in marketing. After graduation, she worked for McKinsey & Company in New York City, where she met her husband, Douglas Clarke Dean Jr., on a blind date in 1954. They married not long after, started their family, and moved to Connecticut. Doug’s career moved the young family to Europe in 1963. They lived in Germany for three years and France for 12 years. They returned to headquarters in the states in Cleveland, Ohio, where Joan was able to care for her mother, Mary Russell for 10 years.
Their love of travel and adventure prevailed when Doug retired and they decided to move to The Cotswold in England, where they lived for 10 years as English country folk. In 1998, they returned to America, making Amelia Island, Fla. their “forever home.”
When her children and grandchildren weren’t visiting, Joan enjoyed playing tennis with her special group of girls until she was 80 years old, bridge and, of course, travelling worldwide.
She was preceded in death by her parents and her husband of 58 years, Douglas Clarke Dean Jr., who passed away in 2014.
She leaves behind her four adult children, James Russell Dean of Banjul, The Gambia, Stacey Anne Ruggaard (Knute) of Phoenix, Ariz., Douglas Clarke Dean III (Kathy) of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and Peter Raymond Dean (Marissa) of San Francisco, Calif.; daughter-in-law, Fifi Dean; and nine grandchildren, Adam Russell Dean, Laura Mary Dean, Samuel Oliver Dean, Emily Virginia Dean, Theodore William Dean, Kelsey Nicole Ruggaard, Kyle Russell Ruggaard, Sean Gabriel Dean, and Samira Dean.
Please share your memories and condolences at www.oxleyheard.com.
Oxley-Heard Funeral Directors
