Martha Jean Dean, age 83 of Malvern, died Thursday, November 15, 2012 in the Malvern Nursing Home. She was born on December 6, 1928 in Forest City, Arkansas to the late Edward James Tully and Eva McBee Tully. Reared and receiving her early education in Forest City, she later attended Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill, California. She was a veteran of the United States Marine Corp, from which she was discharged as Staff Sergeant. A homemaker, she was the widow of the late Henry Dean, to whom she was married on September 15, 1957. He preceded her in death in 1999. After the death of her husband, Mrs. Dean moved to Malvern. She was a member of St. Paul United Methodist Church. An avid gardener, she was also a volunteer at Libby's R.O.S.E.

She is survived by her daughter, Karen Dean of Malvern; her son, Jimmy Dean of Concord, California; her sister, Minnie Endicott of Bartlett, Tennessee; and local niece and nephews, Anne Marie Bell, Judson Batts, and James Batts, all of Malvern.

Also preceding her in death were two brothers, Chris and Luther Tully, and three sisters, Eva Mae Batts, Ruth Bodry, and Kate Tully.

She will be interred along with her husband in the National Cemetery in Memphis, Tennessee at a later date.

Online condolences may be sent via jafunkfuneralhome.com.