Zelma Acreman Dean, 80, passed away on March 15 at Symphony of Mesa Nursing Facility in Mesa, Arizona.  A funeral service was held March 23 at the Antioch East Baptist Church.  Officiating was Rev. Ronald Boulware with Dunklin and Daniels Funeral Home directing.  Burial followed at the church cemetery.

Dean was born to Clarence and Mary Acreman in Georgiana, Ala.  She was preceded in death by her husband, Ivan J. Dean, and her siblings, Ellen Daughtery, Mary Jo Duncan, Elsie Mulero, and C.J. Acreman.  She is survived by four daughters, Debra (Aden) Porter of Blissfield, Mich., Brenda (Lawrence) Brown of Mesa, Ariz., Sandra (Gerald) Ludwig of Suwanee, Ga., and Barbra (Timothy) Hornsby of Woodstock, Ga.; grandchildren, Keri Lynn and Jeremy Brown of Mesa, Ariz., Vanessa (Alex) Barrus of Milan, Mich., Brianna Porter of Blissfield, Mich., Micaela Ludwig of Suwanee, Ga., and Madison Hornsby of Woodstock, Ga.; great-grandchild, Piper Barrus of Milan, Mich.

Dean worked for many years as a secretary for a variety of companies, including Ford Motor Co. of Detroit, and Auburn University in Auburn, Ala.  She was a member of the “Sweet Adelines” while she lived in Michigan and enjoyed singing and yodeling in area jam sessions in Mesa, Ariz., in later years.  She was a songwriter and loved writing poetry.  She expressed herself through her art in portraits and landscapes.  She loved Jesus and family.  She expressed her love for her family by spending hours making crocheted clothing, blankets, afghans, and rugs.