Martha Mae Dean

Martha Mae Dean, 85, formerly of Etna Green, moving to South Bend in 1956, and then to Plymouth in 1997, died of natural causes at 10:47 a.m. on Saturday, April 20, 2002, in the Pilgrim Manor Nursing Center, 222 Parkview St., Plymouth. Martha Mae was born on June 11, 1916, in Sheboygan Falls, Wis. She was the daughter of Glenn Angus Sherer and Dessie Ethel Shadley Sherer. She attended Plymouth schools. On April 20, 1935, in Plymouth, Ind., Martha Mae and Theodore O. Dean were married. Theodore died on Sept. 29, 1996. A homemaker and a cook at Etna Green High School for many years, Martha Mae also served as secretary at Westside Church of Christ, South Bend, retiring in 1997, when she moved to Plymouth. She enjoyed knitting, crocheting and sewing. She also was an avid gardener and liked to read and to write poetry. Martha Mae is survived by a daughter, Marie Yancey, Mishawaka, Ind., and a son, Robert E. Dean of Plymouth. A sister and brother-in-law, Glenna E. and Virgil Shuter, LaPorte, Ind., also survives together with ten grandchildren, 26 great-grandchildren and five great-great-grandchildren. Seven step-grandchildren and several nieces and nephews also survive. She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, three brothers: Terrence, Franklin and Dale Sherer and three sisters: Vivian, Rosella and Charlotte. Visitation with the family will be at the Johnson-Danielson Funeral Home, 1100 N. Michigan St., Plymouth, on Tuesday, April 23, 2002, from 4 to 8 p.m. Funeral services for Martha Mae will be held in the funeral home at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, April 24, 2002. The Rev. Jim Nichols, pastor of the Westside Church of Christ, South Bend, where she was a member, will officiate together with the Rev. Larry Ferguson of Christ’s Church, Plymouth. Burial will be in Oakhill Cemetery, Plymouth. Memorials may be made to the Westside Church of Christ, South Bend, or to Christ’s Church, Plymouth.