Deanne Lambert Ellison

Deanne Lambert Ellison passed away at the age of 66 on Tuesday, April 18, 2023 after a 4½ year battle with metastatic breast cancer. Born October 18, 1956 in Atlanta, GA, she was the daughter of the late Raymond Paul Lambert, Jr. and Lorraine Inman Lambert of Atlanta, GA. She is survived by her husband John Perryman Ellison, son Perryman Dennis Ellison, daughter-in-law Allison Kessler Ellison, and grandson John Walker Ellison all of Atlanta, GA; brother Ray Lambert of Hiawassee, GA; sister in laws Mary Lynn Lambert of Hiawassee, GA and Barbara Davis of Richmond, VA; and numerous nieces, nephews, and cousins.

Deanne was born and raised in Atlanta and was proud to call herself an Atlanta native. As a child, she attended The Lovett School from kindergarten through high school. Deanne earned a Bachelor of Arts from Emory University, where she was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma Sorority, and did her post-graduate work in interior design at Georgia State University. After college, she broke into her dream career of interior design with Ferry Hayes Designers in Atlanta before starting her own design firm, Ellison Lambert Interiors, in 1985. Deanne worked on both residential and commercial projects, which included high-end office suites as well as office building lobbies and common areas. Her expertise ranged from fabrics and furnishings to layouts and architectural design. One of the biggest challenges and enjoyments of her career was having the opportunity to redecorate a private corporate jet from shell condition, where she quickly learned that decorating a tube was a totally different beast from decorating a rectangular box. Deanne applied incredible diligence and conscientiousness to everything she did in life. To say that she joyously overworked her projects would be an understatement, leaving all of her clients happy and satisfied with her work.

Deanne possessed God-given artistic talent that most of us can only hope for. She had an incredible eye for colors and composition. Deanne loved being creative and had an out-of-the-box approach that was just plain fun and sometimes elegant as dictated by the project at hand. She adored children and as her son Perryman has said, “she was born to be a grandmother”. If there were children around, Deanne could often be found rolling on the floor and wrestling with them or playing crazy games that most adults would shy away from. Her creativity mesmerized children as they loved the art projects and games that she conceived for them, whether it was for her son’s friends while they were growing up, teaching a Sunday school class, or for any children that she ran into at a gathering of families. Deanne was always a joyous child at heart herself and she wanted to share that joy with everyone. She was so grateful that God gave her the opportunity to be able to visit and hold her new grandson, Walker, regularly during the first three months of his life.

Deanne hoped that her second career would be as an artist once she fully retired from interior design. She had an incredible thirst for learning, and treated art as a serious hobby. She worked in a number of different mediums including oils, colored pencils, and scratch boards. Her specialty in colored pencils was dog portraits, which often looked just like the photograph, and commissioned work could have kept her busy full-time if she had chosen. She was a member of Peachtree Presbyterian Church, The Heritage Foundation President’s Club, Shepherd Center – Women Shaping Shepherd, and the Atlanta Artists Center.

Deanne was introduced to her husband, Perry, after college by a mutual friend at a favorite local hangout of the late 1970’s called Claiborne’s. Although they had known many of the same friends for years, they had never met until that time. It was love at first sight. Deanne loved to dance, and she and Perry danced that night and then every chance they got for the next 44 years… sometimes in the kitchen while doing dishes.

Deanne was one of the most caring, giving, and generous people that ever existed. Her smile could light up any room when she walked in and it was always there for everyone, even when times didn’t personally warrant it for herself. She loved people and made friends wherever she went. Her personable nature made everyone feel like they were welcome and at home because she treated everyone with consideration, kindness and respect even when they had just met for the first time. Deanne was a treasure. She was loved by many and will be sorely missed by the family that loved her so dearly.

The family will receive friends on Tuesday, April 25, 2023 at H.M. Patterson & Sons Oglethorpe Hill Chapel from 6:00-8:00 pm. A Memorial Service will be held in the sanctuary at Peachtree Presbyterian Church (Peachtree Church) at 2:00 pm on Wednesday, April 26, 2023. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to The Shepherd Center Foundation or The Breast Cancer Research Foundation.