Mary Elisabeth Dean, Ph.D., 90, passed away peacefully on June 11, 2024, in Red Bank, NJ.
She was born in Englewood, NJ in 1933, to Jesse P. and Marguerite A. (Jossier) Dean. She attended the Academy of the Holy Angels and The College of Saint Elizabeth (AB 1955). She was awarded a fellowship to attend Purdue University (MS 1957), where she met her first husband, Earle W. Orr, Jr., Ph.D. Their first daughter, Mary Siobhan Orr, died in infancy. They later had two more children together. Earle, a professor of economics and a transportation specialist, took a job in Dacca, East Pakistan (now Dhaka, Bangladesh). The family lived in Bangladesh for two years, during which time Mary Elisabeth worked as the Director of Counseling at the Dacca American Society School.
Mary Elisabeth returned to Middletown, NJ with her children in 1964. She got a job as a teacher and then a guidance counselor at Lloyd Road Middle School in Matawan, NJ. She was promoted to Guidance Counselor, Director of Guidance, and finally Director of Career Development for the Matawan-Aberdeen School District (1968-1980). She was also an instructor in the Graduate School of Education at Seton Hall University in West Orange, NJ from 1968-1970.
Her marriage to Earle ended in 1966, and in 1968, she married Herbert E. Buhl,Jr., a Relocation Specialist at Bell Labs, a real estate broker and small business owner. She and Herb shared a love of education, the opera and organic gardening. They divorced in 1980. She returned to school and in 1985, she earned her Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from New York University.
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In 1985, Mary Elisabeth married Hamed A. El Maksoud, a retired Air Force General, engineer and businessman from Cario, Egypt, She divided her time between Cairo, Egypt and New Jersey. She worked as a psychological counselor for students and an Assistant Professor of Psychology at the American University in Cairo.She maintained a private counseling practice in Cairo, and also formed 2 companies with her husband, and became VP of H&M Engineering and Chemicals and President of H&M Logistics International, an import-export company. She served on the Board of Directors of the Children’s International Summer Villages and was a member of the US Ambassadors Commission on Drug Abuse Prevention in Cairo, Egypt.
Mary Elisabeth continued to live and work in Cairo for several years after her divorce from Hamed in 1988, and then in 1991 she decided to return permanently to the US to live. She opened her own counseling practice, specializing in the treatment of adolescents and adults, in Red Bank, NJ. In addition to her private practice, she worked as a psychotherapist for two psychiatrists in Toms River, NJ for the next 20 years. She continued teaching at Montclair State University and Ocean County Community College.
Mary Elisabeth developed and presented many workshops and seminars at universities and professional organizations throughout the US.
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She was a pro bono consultant to the Women with Disabilities of Monmouth County for many years, and also did pro bono work for clients, and workshops for staff at 180 Turning Lives Around. She was a Certified Cognitive Behavior Therapist. She served on the Board of Directors of the YMCA in Red Bank, NJ.
She was the editor of professional publications and published articles in professional journals and newspapers.
She was in the Kappa Delta Pi Honor Society, Phi Delta Kappa Honor Society, and was a University Graduate Fellow of Perdue University. She was a member of the International Psychological Association and a member of the International Society of Female Professionals.
She was a proud member of the Shrewsbury Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. She belonged to the Sandpipers of Monmouth Beach senior group and loved attending their events.
Mary Elisabeth was a devoted member of All Saints Memorial Church in Atlantic Highlands, NJ and she served on the vestry and as a eucharistic minister and a lector. She enjoyed many years of travel with her friends from church.
She loved spending time with family and friends and she loved to travel. She visited most of the US states and traveled to over 22 countries. She loved the symphony and jazz music. Her other interests included cooking, sewing, knitting, organic gardening, the stock market and politics. She was very active on Facebook and had many Facebook friends all over the world, some of whom she met during her extensive travels.
She is survived by daughter Mary Julitta (Alan) Clancy, son Gregory D. Orr, stepson Wael (Becky) Elmaksoud, stepdaughter Nivin Elmaksoud, and stepson Christian D. Orr. She is also survived by five grandchildren, Elizabeth M. Orr, William Dean (Amber) Orr, Daniel J. Orr, Ryan M. Clancy, and Timothy A. Clancy. She has two great-grandsons, Caleb and Liam. Also surviving are beloved sister-in-law Marcia Hanson and nephew Paul J. (Wendy) Dean.
She is predeceased by her infant daughter Mary Siobahn Orr, her parents, and her brother Paul J. Dean.
A memorial service will be held at All Saints Memorial Church in Atlantic Highlands on Saturday, the 19th day of October, 2024, at 12:00 noon.
Donations can be made to the Jersey Shore Resue Mission. Thompson Memorial Home of Red Bank, NJ has been entrusted with the arrangements.