Deakin, Maureen, Age: 78, Atlantic Highlands

870

Maureen Deakin, 78, of Atlantic Highlands, died peacefully Saturday, September 2 after battling cancer. Maureen was born in Brooklyn, New York, and spent much of her life in Middletown and Rumson before moving to Atlantic Highlands in the mid 1960s. Maureen earned her bachelor’s degree from Pennsylvania State University.

She was intensely interested in dance from an early age, studying dance and choreography in the studios of Merce Cunningham, Martha Graham and Alwin Nikolais. She owned and operated the Maureen Deakin School of Modern Dance in Red Bank, where she taught hundreds of dancers before retiring in 1992; Some of her students would go on to the Julliard School of Music and Dance and the Boston Conservatory. Maureen was also the founder and principal choreographer of the Deakin Dance Ensemble, which performed at many of the theaters in the shore area. Many of her students became lifelong friends. ln addition to her passion for dance, she ardently supported the arts, serving on the Monmouth County Arts Council.

Maureen was an avid gardener, enjoyed making flower arrangements and was a member of several area garden clubs. She also enjoyed traveling in her youth. She and her husband spent a year traveling through Europe and Mexico shortly after getting married. Maureen loved the beach, spending almost every day there in recent summers, taking long walks and swimming. She was a active and adoring babysitter for her beloved granddaughter, Tess.

Maureen was predeceased by her husband, Thomas Deakin in 1991; her parents, Raymond and Sarah Neary; a brother, John Madden; and a sister Eleanor. She is survived by her son, Blake Deakin of Atlantic Highlands; her daughter, Alissa Deakin and husband Kevin Nicholas; and a granddaughter, Tess all of Middletown. Memorial donations may be made to the Monmouth Arts Council by visiting www.monmoutharts.org/donate. Posten’s Funeral Home, Atlantic Highlands was in charge of arrangements.