Rita Jacqueline Dean

Rita Jacqueline (Williams) Dean of Washington, DC, born in 1932 in Fall River, Massachusetts, to the late Regina Williams and the late Joseph Williams, passed away at age 86 on January 2, 2019 in Annandale, Virginia.

Rita attended B.M.C. Durfee High School in Fall River, Massachusetts where she was a radio feature writer. A young man at Durfee High had caught her eye, so she devised a reason to interview Jim Dean in order to get to know him. They married in 1952 and had three sons.

Rita graduated from Thibodeau Business College in 1951 and moved to the Washington, DC area in 1956. When her third son was young, Rita volunteered at a daycare nowhere near her home. She took her son with her; she wanted to be sure her son grew up with friends that didn't look like him and that came from different backgrounds.

Arriving at Rita's home, visitors were greeted with open arms. It didn't matter whether you were a lifelong friend or an immigrant fleeing a revolution who had just moved into the neighborhood. Rita always made sure visitors felt that they belonged.

Rita always got to know people. After a contractor working on her home told her about the grief he was enduring after the death of his child, Rita began volunteering with the newly formed Haven of Northern Virginia to help publicize their work with the seriously ill, the dying, the bereaved, their families and friends. Rita was their Director of Public Relations and a member of the Board of Directors.

Always promoting others instead of herself, she handled public relations for different charities and her husband's art career. With her support, her husband's artwork was displayed at the National Gallery of Art, the Corcoran Gallery of Art, on several US postage stamps, in the Smithsonian Institution, and other fine art galleries.

Rita had a long battle with vascular dementia. She slowly faded, but always a bit of her remained if one could connect with her. In a routine dementia examination near the end of her life, she was asked, "Who is the President of the United States?" She answered, "I can't remember his name, but I know that I don't like him."

Rita is survived by her husband of 66 years, Jim Dean, her sons - Rick Dean (Diane), and Steve Dean (Eddie Rangel), three grandchildren - Laura, Scott, and Eric, and a great-grandson. She was preceded in death by her son, James.

Rita also leaves behind her greatly loved cat, Midnight.

The memorial service will be private.