Myra Dean Cruce, known to family and friends simply as Dean, passed away peacefully on August 14, 2026, at the age of 92.
Dean was born on August 1, 1933, in Florence, Alabama, the fifth of six children born to Thomas Ralph Cruce and Ada Ruth Giles Cruce.
On May 31, 1951—the very day they graduated from high school—Dean and his sweetheart, Peggy Ann Wade, eloped to Iuka, Mississippi, beginning a marriage that would span more than seven decades.
Dean enlisted in the United States Air Force in August 1952 and served until August 1956 as an electronics and radar maintenance instructor at Keesler Air Force Base, Biloxi, Mississippi. Following his military service, he attended The University of Alabama, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics and Physics in 1959.
Throughout his career, Dean applied his mathematical talents and technical expertise to projects of national significance. He contributed to the Saturn and Apollo space programs at Marshall Space Flight Center and at Kennedy Space Center. He later joined the Tennessee Valley Authority, where he worked as a technical writer supporting its nuclear power program in Knoxville before relocating to Chattanooga to assist with construction of the Bellefonte Nuclear Plant. Dean retired from TVA in 1994.
Dean’s life was marked by his quiet faithfulness—to God, to Peggy, to his family, to his friends, and to the work entrusted to him. Dean was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Peggy Ann Wade Cruce; his parents, Thomas Ralph Cruce and Ada Ruth Giles Cruce; and his siblings, Austin Cruce, Edith Byrom (Pete), Cleo McGuire (Earl), and Leo Cruce; and his sister-in-law, Linda Cruce.
He is survived by his brother, Thomas “Ferdy” Cruce; his children, Cynthia Wade, Philip Cruce (Marion), Donna Kocka (David), and Wade Cruce (Kimberly); twelve grandchildren; many great-grandchildren; and numerous nieces, nephews, extended family members, and cherished friends.
Memorial Service Saturday, August 8, 2026, at 1:00 p.m., Christ United Methodist Church, 8645 East Brainerd Road, Chattanooga, Tennessee. Interment Sunday, August 9, 2026, at 3:00 p.m., Florence City Cemetery, 705 East College Street, Florence, Alabama.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial contributions be made to Hospice of the Chesapeake or to the ALS Association in Dean’s memory.
