Marilyn Dean DeRamus Blanton

On February 9, 2018, Marilyn Dean DeRamus Blanton, 89, died peacefully at home surrounded by those who love her. Dean was born on January 31, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia, to the late Marion Koops DeRamus (for whom Dean would provide a loving home for 15 years in Houston) and E.M. DeRamus. She grew up in Birmingham, Alabama, where she was a graduate of Elyton School and John Herbert Phillips High School. She attended the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa and graduated from Birmingham-Southern College in 1950 with a degree in speech. That same year, Dean married Robert L. Blanton whom she first met when they were 13. She taught high school for two years before Bob’s career took them to Lake Charles, Lafayette, and New Orleans, Louisiana; Houston, Texas; Chicago, Illinois; London, England; and Buenos Aires, Argentina. They lived in Houston for 25 years before relocating to Raleigh to be closer to family.

Dean was a lifelong Methodist who gave her time and energy to churches in many places. She loved John Wesley United Methodist Church in Houston and especially its Hope Circle who faithfully kept in touch with her for all the years after she left. In Raleigh, she was a member of Edenton Street United Methodist Church where she enjoyed her friends near the “Andrew window pew.”

Dean was warm, kind, and gregarious, traits that served her well as she created new homes, fit into new communities, and made friends wherever the family moved. Over the years, she was involved with many groups and organizations, including the Girl Scouts and Cub Scouts, Winnetka Women’s Club, Huntwick Women’s Club and Book Club, Delphians, and Amoco Wives. She happily played roles large and small in them all. Dean also enjoyed writing and sending greeting cards, notes, and letters to innumerable family members and friends. She understood the importance not only of celebrating occasions, but also of simply staying in touch. Her amazing memory enabled her to recall details about people, places, and events from throughout her long life.

Dean is preceded in death by Bob, her husband of almost 61 years. She is survived by her daughter, Lynne Blanton of Park Ridge, Illinois; her son and daughter-in-law, Richard L. Blanton and Candace H. Haigler of Raleigh; cousins Martis Lee, Louise, and Frankie Blanton of Birmingham, Alabama; and nieces Susan Riner of Watkinsville, Georgia, and Cindy Weeks of Chapel Hill.

The family is deeply grateful to longtime caregivers Lizzie and Bessie and to Jane, Casey, Debra, Right at Home, and Transitions LifeCare for their compassion and dedication to Dean and her welfare. She benefited greatly from the wonderful Triangle medical community, beginning soon after her arrival in Raleigh with an insightful diagnosis by Dr. Ahmed Farag and the firm but kind physical therapy by Frank Hielma, enabling her to have many active years. Her failing sight was restored by Dr. Alan Carlson. The attentive care of Dr. Rushad Shroff and Occupational Therapist Carroll Fernstrom throughout her time in Raleigh and compassionate insights recently provided by Dr. Cheryl McNeil were appreciated by Dean and her family.

A memorial service to celebrate Dean’s life will be held in Raleigh at 12 noon on Saturday, February 17, in the chapel of Edenton Street United Methodist Church, with visitation and a reception following. Inurnment in the church’s columbarium will occur in a later private ceremony. In lieu of flowers, those wishing to give memorials can consider their favorite worthy cause or one of Dean’s: Edenton Street United Methodist Church, North Carolina State University (particularly the Fellowship Advising Office, Plant Biology Graduate Program, University Honors Program, and OLLI), Birmingham-Southern College (where she endowed a student travel fund in her name), Texas Tech University (where two Blanton scholarships exist), Pretty In Pink Foundation, Breast Cancer Research Foundation, Safe Haven for Cats, UNC-TV, and North Carolina Symphony.