ROBERT B. DEANS

DEANS--Robert Barr, Jr. passed away peacefully on August 13th, 2014 at Glen Cove Hospital. Bob was born on April 9, 1925 in Buffalo, New York. He was the son of Robert B. Deans ("Sheriff") and Lucy Bemis Pomeroy Deans. His younger sister, Lucy Pomeroy Deans Hanes predeceased him in 1977. He grew up in New York City and Aiken, South Carolina and attended The Buckley School in New York and Aiken Preparatory School in South Carolina. In 1939, he entered St. Paul's School in Concord, New Hampshire as a member of the Third Form and he graduated in 1943. Following his graduation from St. Paul's, he enlisted in the United States Navy V-12 officer training program in Rochester, New York and served on the west coast until the end of World War II. At the conclusion of the war, he enrolled at Yale University under the G.I. Bill and graduated in 1947 with a degree in economics. After his graduation from Yale, Bob worked for New York Trust Company, Fiduciary Counsel, and Lehman Brothers until 1951 when he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. In 1952, he married Elisabeth DeBoeck Prickett in Wilmington, Delaware and started working for Chase National Bank. Bob and Elise spent several years in Vienna, Zurich, and Beirut where Bob was on loan to various foreign banks while working for Chase. They traveled extensively, had many extraordinary experiences, and made many long-standing friends. During this time, Bob and Elise were accompanied in their travels by their oldest daughter, Mary, and their two sons who were born abroad (Rob in Zurich in 1954 and Gil in Beirut in 1956). Bob and Elise returned to New York in 1957 and took up residence in Mill Neck on Long Island at "Turbillon" where he lived until his death. Upon returning to New York in 1957, Bob joined Van Strum & Towne and, while working there between 1957 and 1967, he earned an M.B.A. from New York University and had two more children (Nick in 1957, Elisabeth in 1960). In 1967, Bob and several close friends and colleagues founded Inverness Counsel. He worked there as Chairman/CEO until, in 2011, he assumed the role of Chairman Emeritus. Even in his role as Chairman Emeritus, Bob never stopped actively consulting with his fellow partners and advising his long-time contacts. His memberships included The Racquet and Tennis Club, The Creek, Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club, Beaver Dam Winter Sports Club, the Boone and Crockett Club and, for a short time, the Colony Club. In 1963, Bob and his long-time neighbors and friends William T. Dunn, Jr. and Leonard L. Marshall, Jr. founded the North Shore Wildlife Sanctuary in Mill Neck and he served on the Executive Committee until his death. His first wife, Elise, pre-deceased him in 2001 and Bob was fortunate to spend his final years with his second wife, Shirley Blakeley of Livingston, Montana, whom he married in 2008. Bob is survived by his five children Mary L. C. Flood, Robert Barr Deans III (Janet), William Prickett Deans (Wendy), Nicholas Wyeth Deans (Barbara), and Elisabeth Suzanne DeBoeck Mooney. He is also survived by his grandchildren Caroline Whitney Deans and Robert Barr Deans IV (children of Rob and Janet), Katharine Hale Mooney (daughter of Elisabeth), and Jeremy Luke Frazier (step-son of Nicholas). He is also survived by an enormous extended family of friends and relatives with whom he interacted actively throughout his life. A private interment will be held at Valley Forge Memorial Chapel. A memorial service is scheduled for October 10, 2014 at 11:00am at Christ Church in Oyster Bay. In lieu of flowers, Bob has requested that donations be made to North Shore Wildlife Sanctuary (P.O. Box 214, Mill Neck, NY 11765).