Pearl Dean Ake

Pearl Dean Ake, known as Dean in her professional life and affectionately as Perky to her friends and family, passed away on February 20, 2023, at the age of 93. She passed away peacefully in her sleep. She leaves behind a son, Joel, his wife Donna; a daughter, Lisa, her husband Fereidoun; and grandchildren Jesse, Shayda, and Nicholas. Her husband, Coolidge, and eldest son, Wayne, passed away some years ago.

Perky grew up in Texas and married when she was just nineteen. She started working for AT&T as an operator, started a family, and moved to California. She raised her family in San Jose, California. She steadily moved up at AT&T and became one of the few female civil engineers in a male-dominated industry. She was responsible for planning utilities for large housing developments. She created blueprints, worked with developers, and other utility companies.

At 55, she was offered early retirement from AT&T. She moved back to Texas with her eldest son where her husband was already working. She lived in Austin for a few years, and then moved to Cherokee, where her husband had purchased a small farm house on twenty-six acres. She expanded the house with a large addition and brought another small house onto the property.

She blossomed during retirement. She started going to church and was a founding member of Grace Gathering Church in Llano until her health forced her to move away from Cherokee.  She created a large vegetable garden and planted and in addition to gardening, began making porcelain dolls. She did everything from pouring and firing the porcelain to making the clothes and painting the faces. When she finally moved on from dollmaking, she’d created more than three dozen antique reproductions. Her next hobby was quilting, and she became an active member of a lively quilting group. She went on to make dozens of quilts, some with intricate applique. She taught bible study at the church until she was 89.

Also throughout her retirement—and indeed, her entire life—she was passionate about animals and wildlife. She had a knack for connecting with animals, wild or otherwise. She raised ducks, chickens, fed the wild deer that lived on and near her property, and even (sometimes grudgingly) fed the racoon families that took up residence under the porch.

Cats in particular were special to her; she always had at least one cat living with her throughout the majority of her life. Feral cats abounded on the property when she first arrived in Cherokee, but under her care, they became the most spoiled, well-fed, domesticated creatures in the world. At one time, there were twenty-one cats on the property, and you can bet they were all madly in love with her. Even the wilder ones that resisted complete domestication loved her. One such cat lived under a shed on the property. She felt it needed a loving touch, so she would go out every day at least once, sit in garage, and feed and pet the animal. This devotion also lead to some hijinks: one night, when she was ninety years old, she went out to pet the cat as usual, but locked herself out of the main house. She sat in the garage almost all night; then, determined to find a way back inside the house, pulled the A/C unit out of her bedroom window, crawled in, and went to sleep. (She was just as tough as she was kind—maybe even tougher.)

She was also a lifelong learner, and always pushing herself to be better. At age 36, she completed her associate’s degree; at age 51, she earned her bachelor’s degree. She was working on her master’s degree when she took early retirement. In her late 70’s, she insisted on walking 3 miles a day, every day. Her husband went to a nursing home when she was 81, so she took care of two houses and 26 acres by herself for the next nine years. When she was 90, she admitted that managing these properties by herself was difficult, so she moved to an assisted living facility in Cedar Park.

But Perky, as her family and friends will tell you, was always fiercely independent and had strong ties to the places she loved. Cherokee had been her home for nearly 40 years, and she missed it terribly. She wanted to return to Cherokee, even when her children believed it was safer for her to remain in assisted living. They refused to help her move back out of fear for her safety, since she had been so isolated on that beautiful but lonely piece of land.

But that didn’t stop Perky. She hired a moving company, completely independent of her family, and moved back to Cherokee for another year. She eventually returned to Cedar Park—this time on her own terms—to be closer to her daughter and extended family. She has been living in a memory care facility in Cedar Park for the last year.

Perky was a hardworking, caring mother who loved her family, her pets, and her friends. She was creative, thoughtful, practical, and a genuinely good person. She will be deeply missed.

A Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, February 25, 2023, at 10:00 AM at Providence-Jones Family Funeral Home. Interment will follow at Speir Cemetery in Elgin.