Deane Allen Gilliam was born on November 17, 1937, in California to Charles Edward Allen and Catherine Murray Allen. Her father worked for Standard Oil of California and later relocated the family to New Jersey. They lived in Colonia, where Deane attended the Vail-Deane School. She went on to attend Wellesley College in Massachusetts.

Following Wellesley, she began a life marked by international moves and intellectual pursuits. She lived in Sydney, Australia, and later in Geneva, Switzerland, before returning to the United States and eventually settling in New York City.

In New York, Deane worked at The New Yorker Magazine and later at the United Nations as a Press Secretary. She built a wide circle of friends and embraced the city’s cultural life with curiosity and independence.

She served as President of the Single Parent Resource Center and was President Emeritus at the time of her death. She was deeply committed to supporting families and strengthening community for generations of single parents.

Adventurous at heart, Deane learned to scuba dive, loved a good margarita, and carried a lively spirit wherever she went.

Deane is survived by her husband, John; her sons, Charles Whittemore Allen and his wife, Jenn, and Edward Alexander Allen and his wife, Amanda; her five grandchildren; and a wide circle of friends.

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