Elizabeth Overbaugh Dean

Elizabeth Overbaugh (Liz) Dean, 88, died Thursday, August 13, 2020 of a COVID-related illness. The daughter of Walter Overbaugh and Stella Rucker Overbaugh, she was born in Gorman, Texas, grew up in Fishkill, New York, was a 1953 graduate of Cornell University and later earned a Master of Arts in Liberal Studies Degree at Duke University.

Liz was a loving wife and mother, Cub Scout den mother, Certified Public Accountant, and nature lover. She instilled a passion for learning and creativity in all her children. In our youth, she at least appeared to enjoy making special clothing for herself and the whole family, including many epic Halloween costumes for us all.

We don't know what she did before moving to Raleigh in 1965, but once here, she put down roots. She loved Raleigh and North Carolina. Liz will be missed by so many people. Not just her family and close friends, but the many people she touched along the way at the Raleigh Little Theatre, Mountains-to-Sea Trail, NC Museum of Natural Sciences, Triangle Land Conservancy, Gentle Readers, and every school her children ever attended. During her long adventurous life she enjoyed the symphony, teaching, batik, piano, hiking, camping, jogging, sewing, knitting, crosswords, sudoku, travel, her grandchildren, but not necessarily in that order.

For over forty years, Liz was active as a volunteer at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, mostly in its Discovery Room, and was famous there for her hand-made black widow spider costume. At the museum and at Conn Elementary School, she entertained and educated thousands of school children over the years, often dressed in her meticulously detailed Monarch Butterfly costume that she, of course, made herself. She enjoyed travel with her husband, Bob, throughout Europe and The Americas. She was a member of White Memorial Presbyterian Church Choir in Raleigh. In 2017 the Deans moved to The Cardinal at North Hills as two of its founding residents.

Liz was predeceased by her husband in March 2020, and she is survived by her sons Paul of Baton Rouge, Jim of Raleigh, and Bruce in Steamboat Springs, Colorado; daughters-in-law Chloe and Josie; her sister-in-law Betty in Barrington, Illinois; and three delightful grandchildren: Nick, Anna, and Smith.

A memorial service will be held at a later date.

In lieu of flowers the family requests donations in Liz’s honor to the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences and Helping Hand Mission.