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- DEANS
Post-Standard, The (Syracuse, NY) - March 6, 2016
Dorothy M. Deans March 4, 2016 Dorothy M. Deans, a lifelong resident of Pulaski, left this Earth on March 4, 2016. She was 95 and was funny and kind right up to the end. Dot was born in Pulaski on April 6, 1920 to Andrew and Una Murray. She graduated from Pulaski Academy in 1937, where she was a class officer, played the French horn, sang in a girl trio, and was co-captain of the championship girl's basketball team. Loving athletics and the outdoors, she was a Red Cross Lifeguard instructor, canoed and kayaked on Lake Ontario, and enjoyed ice skating and biking. She graduated from Oswego State in 1942 with a degree in elementary education and, after teaching briefly, joined the war effort in 1943. As a Women's Army Corp sergeant, she served in the South as a basic training instructor, recruiter, and hospital administrator until the war's end. In later years she wrote a short book about her service experience and in 2012 travelled to Washington, DC, on an Honor Flight. After the war, she worked in a doctor's office in Syracuse, then returned to Pulaski in 1950 to help her parents run their gas station and store. In spring 1951, Edwin Deans began stopping by the store every morning, and in the fall they married. Ed died in 1983. Dot took a few years off to raise her three children and then continued teaching in the Pulaski district as a kindergarten teacher in Richland and a second and fourth grade teacher in Pulaski. She was a teacher for over 30 years. Before and after retirement, Dot volunteered and was a member of many organizations. She was on the board of directors of the Pulaski Public Library, Salmon River Fine Arts Center, and Springbrook Apartments. For over 20 years she volunteered as an AARP tax preparer. She was a member of St. James Episcopal Church for many years, where with her family she continued her mother's tradition of making Palm Sunday crosses for over 75 years. She was also a member of the Tuesday Study Club, Parish Writers Group, and Pulaski Historical Society. She also enjoyed her retirement years by writing, traveling widely with her sister Jane, and spending time with her many friends, her family, and a series of excellent dogs. Dot is predeceased by her husband, her son William, and her siblings Jane, Robert, and Bruce. She is survived by daughters Andrea (Pulaski) and Karen (Alexandria, Virginia), and many nieces and nephews. There will be a gathering in Dot's memory from 1 to 3 p.m. on Thursday, March 10, at the Pulaski Historical Society (address below), with a brief memorial service at 2 p.m. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Pulaski Historical Society, 3428 Maple Ave, Pulaski, NY 13142. Arrangements by Foster-Hax Funeral Home, 52 Park Street, Pulaski.
Class of 1937 PACS
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1920 - 2016 (95 years)