Geraldine Anne (Miller) Westbrook— “Deanie” of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, originally of Jackson, Mississippi, passed away at age 85 peacefully at home on September 26, 2024, from a painless and rapidly progressing illness.
Deanie Westbrook triumphed over several daunting life challenges that would have defeated most of us. She was born in the post-depression era in Jackson, Mississippi, and was ‘orphaned’ early in life due to an alcoholic father and a mother who was incorrectly institutionalized by the primitive mental health professionals of 1940s Mississippi. She spent her childhood in an orphanage until she was able to attend All Saints Episcopal girls boarding school in Vicksburg, MS. She attended Mississippi State College for Women (MSCW) and chose a challenging major—Microbiology—long before women were encouraged to focus on STEM majors. She applied her knowledge in the medical technology field as a medical laboratory scientist, eventually studying to become board-certified by the Association for the Advancement of Blood & Biotherapies as a Specialist in Blood Banking Technology (SBB). She began her career after graduation from MSCW working in the laboratory and blood bank of the William Beaumont Hospital in Mobile, Alabama. She moved with her husband to Michigan, then moved to Murfreesboro in the early 1960s, where she worked in the blood bank of the original Rutherford Hospital in Murfreesboro. She later worked in the blood bank of Nashville’s American Red Cross blood center and retired as the Assistant Director of Blood Banking after many years at Baptist Hospital in Nashville. She taught the blood bank subspecialty for the medical technology program at Baptist and St. Thomas hospitals. She also taught the blood bank rotation students from University of Tennessee-Memphis.
Wisely divorcing in the early 1970s, Deanie triumphed against the pressures and stigma of a single divorcee and working Mom that were embedded in the societal norms of a small southern town. She raised her two sons vigilantly, encouraging pursuit of the arts, music, theater, travel, education, always imbued with tolerance and grace. Her position and role in the Rutherford hospital evolved beyond the professional life to also be a quasi-big sister and “Ma Dean” to the next generation of medical professionals, nurses, and the then-collocated staff of the nascent Rutherford County Ambulance service. The resulting synergy of those lasting relationships served to keep her engaged with a vibrant crowd who kept her young and active, and she served that next generation with her unvarnished advice, cutting wit, and candid assessments when they would often seek her counsel. A lifelong Democrat, Deanie championed women’s voting rights and access, serving in Murfreesboro’s League of Women Voters in an era where many women were encouraged to remain home while their husbands voted on their behalf. An active participant in the original Murfreesboro Little Theatre, she appeared in many productions and often served backstage in makeup, costume, and set design. She was also an occasional international traveler, with a still-current passport in a drawer ready for the next trip.
Sometimes decades ahead of the norm, Deanie embraced diversity early and often included the LGBTQ+ community long before the acronym existed. She grieved over several friends lost during the nadir of the HIV/AIDS crisis, while her efforts in the Rutherford Hospital blood bank included submitting data, samples, and reports to the Centers for Disease Control regarding observations of data on AIDS patients, a practice rarely seen in only the largest research hospitals at the time. Her policy of inclusion led to many parties at her house that mixed many diverse backgrounds together in her modest Hamilton Drive home, culminating in the annual salon that was her Christmas Day Irish Coffee party—an intellectual fusion of ideas fueled by caffeine and Irish whiskey.
Deanie retained her deep southern Mississippi accent throughout her life despite living in Michigan and Tennessee. As a result, her deep voice made her sound a bit like the cartoon rooster, Foghorn Leghorn, as she delivered a never-ending stream of southern phrases that still seem like caricatures: Speed: “quicker than a duck on a June bug”, Calling out someone’s deception: “that dog won’t hunt”, upon seeing her granddaughter’s boyfriend’s photo— “he’s a tall drink of water.” She was a master at the employment of the complex and versatile phrase “Bless his/her/your heart.” Sometimes whispered in a conspiratorial tone or as a rapier of judgement. Sometimes in the application of that neutral middle ground of pity or ‘I’d rather not say what I am thinking.’ But also, often used in its sweeter application of sympathy and appreciation—literally her last full phrase spoken two days before her passing was a response to a sweet compliment from her hospice nurse—a softly uttered “bless your heart.”
Deanie is survived by her sons and daughters-in-law, Alonzo Sheldon “Al” Westbrook, IV and Pamela Westbrook of Celina, Tennessee, and CAPT Michael Tate Westbrook, USN (Ret) and Ashley Westbrook of Pasadena, Maryland, and grandchildren, Holly, Cate, Thomas, and Austin.
A memorial service is planned at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Murfreesboro next week—Date/Time TBD. Her ashes will be spread in Pawley’s Island, SC, her favorite beach destination that she enjoyed for decades with family and friends. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in Deanie’s name to the Discovery Center at Murfree Spring.
