Martha Gilliam Dean

Martha Ann Gilliam Dean left this world on the evening of December 17, 2020. She was at home and in the company of her family, with love all around her. She was born on October 26, 1930, the daughter of Dolphus A. Gilliam and Dorothy Stallard Gilliam, in the community of Pound, Virginia. Her older brother, Sterling Gilliam and daughter, Donna Marie Dean, preceded her in death. While in High School at St. Paul, Virginia she met a young veteran of WWII, H. Chester Dean. They married in 1949 and shared their worlds with one another until his death in 1999. She is survived by four children: C. Scott Dean (Laurey-Faye); Amy Denise Vassiliou; Marck W. Dean (Margie); and Dwight A. Dean (Alice). Three grandchildren also survive her: April Vassiliou Fields; Joshua Adam Dean; and Kaitlin Ann Dean. Three great granddaughters, Emma Carrier, Elli Carrier and Sierra Hayes, along with many nieces and nephews, are also missing their MomMom and Aunt Martha. She loved gardening and her daylilies and roses were enjoyed by all who saw them, and this love she passed on to all of us. She imparted a sense of decency, love, and joy to all of us, and with Dad, provided we kids a childhood like few have experienced. She also fostered in us a love of reading – not just how to read, but to love reading, and that is a gift for which we are all grateful. Poetry was important to her and she loved the works of Robert Frost. Nothing Gold Can Stay Nature’s first green is gold, Her hardest hue to hold. Her early leaf’s a flower, But only so an hour. Then leaf subsides to leaf. So Eden sank to grief, So dawn goes down to day. Nothing gold can stay. Her passing leaves a void in many lives, but in time her love will fill that void and her memory will bring smiles more often than tears. And that will please her.