Cindy Dever passed away peacefully, at home in the company of her family, on November 6, 2020.
Cindy was born on July 13 1942 in Jackson, Tennessee to Mabel and Albert Dancy. Her mother Mabel was a second grade teacher, and Cindy acquired from her a life-long passion for teaching, which she passed on to her children and grandchildren. She attended college first at David Lipscomb College, where she met her future husband of 57 years, George Dever. After George and Cindy wed, they moved to Beltsville, Maryland, where she transferred to the University of Maryland and completed her bachelor’s degree.
Cindy and George lived in Tennessee, Maryland, California, Florida, and Germany, but eventually settled in Austin in 1976. There Cindy and George raised their three children Josh, Paul, and Meghan. Cindy taught fifth grade while living in Maryland and then taught second grade at Spicewood Elementary in Austin for many years. A generation of students benefited from her love of teaching and remember her fondly. In the 1990s she furthered her work with children by obtaining a masters in social work from the University of Texas at Austin.
Cindy was an avid traveler. She enjoyed trips with George by car and by train throughout the United States, with a special love of the national parks, especially Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks. In later life, one of her great pleasures was winter trips to Yellowstone at the Old Faithful Snow Lodge with her extended family. While living in Germany in the 1980s, she traveled extensively with her family throughout Europe.
Cindy served as a Stephen Minister at Covenant Presbyterian Church and as a Stephen Minister, an elder, and a deacon at United Christian Church. The love of literature and reading filled her life, both in her own reading (and the book group of which she was a member for many years) and in her teaching. Her expansive collection of children’s literature brought joy and the love of reading to her many students.
Cindy is survived by her husband George; by her brother Albert Dancy and his wife Ann; by her three children Josh (and his wife Sharon), Paul (and his wife Steph), and Meghan (and her husband Tony); by her nine deeply beloved grandchildren Sophia, Maeve, Brigid, Grace, Bria, Elise, Kellan, Gabriel, and Kai; by many nieces and nephews; by her beloved cat Tiki; and by her many friends and students whose lives she touched over the years.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Hospice Austin or Bookspring.