Mary Frances Dean, 86
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Mary Frances Dean, 86, of 108 Woodlawn Ave. died Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2015, at Williamstown Commons.
Born in North Adams on June 5, 1928, a daughter of James and Marguerite Muldowney Hanlon, she graduated from Drury High School in 1945 and later from Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in 1998 with a bachelor of arts in English and communications.
Mrs. Dean was employed as an administrative assistant for the North Adams Public Schools.
She was a founding member of Massachusetts Citizens for Life for more than 35 years and was the executive director and a founding member of North Adams LifeRight, which provided clothing, cribs, diapers, formula, food and support to young mothers, babies and infants with commitment and unequaled compassion. She received the Ignatius O'Connor Award in 1995 from the Massachusetts Citizens for Life for her outstanding contributions and received citations from President Ronald Reagan in 1984 and from Bishop Timothy McDonnell, Diocese of Springfield, in 2011, for her work. She was an active communicant of the former St. Francis of Assisi Church.
She was a member of the Rhythm Belle line dancers and Berkshire County Line Dancers. Mrs. Dean also was a clog dancer, bridge player, bowler and an accomplished amateur landscape painter. She was a devoted wife, mother, grandmother and aunt.
Her husband, Robert James Dean, whom she married Aug. 26, 1950, died April 13, 2001.
She leaves three sons, Robert P. Dean of Dalton, Shawn F. Dean and his wife, Terri, of Salem, N.H., and Darryl P. Dean and his wife, Mandy, of North Adams; five grandchildren, Patrick, Sara, Mitchell, Ethan and Shannon Dean, and two great-grandchildren.
She was predeceased by her two daughters, Roberta Dean in 1989 and Beverly Della Mattera in 2005; her son Timothy Dean in infancy; four sisters, Marguerite Williams, Gertrude Burdick, Dorothy Nadeau and Ruth Riordan, and her brother, James Hanlon.
FUNERAL NOTICE — A Liturgy of Christian Burial for Mrs. Dean will be celebrated Saturday, Jan. 31, at 8:45 a.m. from St. Elizabeth of Hungary Church in North Adams. Burial will follow in Southview Cemetery.
Calling hours will be Friday, Jan. 30, from 4 to 7 at Flynn & Dagnoli-Montagna Home for Funerals, West Chapels, 521 West Main St., North Adams. Memorial donations are suggested for Massachusetts Citizens for Life or the charity of the donor's choice through the funeral home.