Dee Anne was born December 16, 1943, in Dallas, Texas, to Norma Maie Handley and Hugh B Lofland, Jr., while Hugh was serving as a Navy medic in the Pacific. While Hugh was away, Dee Anne and Norma lived in Garland, Texas with Norma’s parents, Peter and Willie Belle Handley, not far from Hugh’s parents, Hugh and Lydia Lofland, in Rockwall. Dee’s years in Garland, surrounded by a large extended family, gave her a lifelong love for all her relatives and an openness to others. After Hugh’s return from WWII, the young Loflands moved to West Lafayette, Indiana, where Hugh earned a PhD in Biochemistry, and then to Winston-Salem, NC, where he soon became a valuable faculty member at Bowman Gray School of Medicine, conducting groundbreaking research into arteriosclerosis. With her kids off to school, Norma joined Hugh’s research team, where she organized and helped analyze the voluminous data produced by their many experimental programs.

Dee Anne attended Winston-Salem schools, graduating from R.J. Reynolds High School in June 1961. She was an excellent student and proud Girl Scout. Later, she earned a BA in English, with a teaching certificate (UNCG) and a Master’s in Library Science (URI). Dee Anne and Wilson C. Lamb, Jr. were married on June 8, 1965 and moved to New England, where Wilson continued his education and they started their own family. Besides being a model homemaker and supportive wife, Dee Anne was also a loving mother and fierce protector of her children, Wilson Christopher Lamb (Robin Ray), Peter Julian Lamb (Amy Miller), Jeremiah Blake Lamb, and Camilla Rene Lamb (Nate Tetterton), all of whom survive her, as do her sister, Marian Lisa Lofland Gould and her brother, Hugh Maxwell Lofland. She nurtured five grandchildren, Zachariah Lamb, Elijah Lamb, Cooper Lamb, Gretta Lamb, and Hugh Lamb, tirelessly encouraging them and passing along her love of life, literature, and her fellow humans.

Dee used her love of literature as an English teacher, small town librarian, and private school librarian. She was a cofounder of the Meadowbrook Waldorf School, in Rhode Island. Later, she worked as an information specialist at McKinsey and Co.’s Houston office, where she supported analysts working on complex business development and operational problems. Upon Wilson’s retirement in 1996 and subsequent move to North Carolina, her skill led to her being made McKinsey’s first remote staffer. In retirement, Dee Anne was a tireless supporter of the Emerson Waldorf School in Chapel Hill, NC, serving as a Board of Directors member, President, and School Librarian. She was also an accomplished genealogist, ferreting out data from obscure publications and gravestones, long before computers made such data available online. She directed the design of the home where she and Wilson have lived since 1998, and followed its construction closely, to be sure it met her design criteria.

Now we have lost Dee Anne, to a several-year decline with Alzheimer’s disease. She maintained her love of people and nature as long as she could, enjoying family visits, occasional meals out, and her many books. When home care became impractical, she continued hospice care in a nursing facility, with many visits by family members. She slipped away peacefully at 5 AM, April 15, 2024. If you wish to give a remembrance of Dee Anne, please think of her concern for the less fortunate among us and give to your favorite food bank. More importantly, please remember Dee Anne by supporting those around you, especially those who may need more understanding than others, and those who care for them.

There will be a private interment in the Lamb family plot in Forsyth Memorial Park, Winston-Salem, NC, and there will be a celebration of Dee Anne’s life, at a date to be announced, in Hillsborough, NC. Wilson remains in Hillsborough, where he will take comfort from the many beautiful quilts Dee Anne made and the flowers she planted. He looks forward to seeing and hearing from friends and relatives.