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Independent National Sales Director Dee Denison passed away on December 23, 2014. Dee was in the care of her daughter, Independent Senior Sales Director Sharon Pace at the time of her passing. The family will have a private memorial after the first of the new year.

Dee was a true pioneer of Mary Kay, Inc. She began her business in February, 1966. As an executive secretary in a one-girl office in Dallas, Independent National Sales Director Emeritus Dee Denison thought she had the perfect job and life. But when her only daughter moved, taking Dee’s beloved granddaughters 800 miles away, Dee was devastated.

Sad that she could no longer babysit, Dee, putting her daughter, Sharon, on a “guilt trip,” said she would fill her spare time selling Tupperware or Home Interiors. Her daughter, who had attended a Mary Kay skin care class, suggested a Mary Kay career instead.

With her husband behind her, Dee held classes almost every night. “I was ready to quit my full-time job after my first skin care class, but I felt so indispensable that I believed my boss would never strike oil again if I left him,” Dee says. Because he was so generous, allowing her to take time off for Mary Kay meetings, the decision was even harder. Six months later, Dee finally made Mary Kay her full-time business.

When she and her husband moved to Houston in 1971, her business soared and her unit was No. 9 in the top 10 units at Seminar 1972, and Dee says, “The hardest thing I have ever done was to accept the keys to the first of 11 pink Cadillacs, without Earl. I lost Earl to a heart attack the March before.” Dee is thankful that her career helped sustain her.

“I think so many of us could write a book about how our lives have changed and all for the better because of Mary Kay,” Dee says. “No wonder I have stayed so excited about my business and enjoyed each chapter.”

Your expressions of sympathy and condolence are welcome. Dee is survived by her daughter Senior Sales Director Sharon Pace, four grandchildren, Deena Marsh, Independent Beauty Consultant Daana Grady, Debra Nazzal and Derek Pace, six great-grandchildren and one great-great grandchild.

Our hearts go out to Dee’s daughter and family.