Dearborn Movius Obituary
ASHEVILLE – Dearborn Movius, a long-time Asheville resident and prominent realtor, died peacefully at age 92 at her Grove Park residence on June 15, 2012. Dearborn was born in New York City on December 12, 1919 and grew up in Asheville. She attended St. Genevieve-of-the-Pines for many years, graduating at age 16. She attended Duke University for her freshman year and then Bryn Mawr College for the remainder of college, graduating in 1940. She then enlisted in the US Navy, eventually attaining the rank of lieutenant. She was stationed in Philadelphia and Atlantic City and at the Navy’s anti-submarine headquarters in Charleston, S.C. She met her future husband, George West Movius of Boston, Massachusetts, while both were in the service. They married in 1945 and moved to Asheville several years later.
Dearborn became a residential real estate agent in 1958. One of Asheville’s first female realtors, she worked initially at Dick Dillard Realty, and then at Preferred Properties of Asheville from 1970 until she retired in her early 80’s. She was widely known in the profession, especially for her ability to know what her customers wanted. Dearborn had many, varied interests, including reading, music, art, history and hiking. She especially liked English and French culture, loved to travel to those countries, and was fluent in French. She was a long-time member of All Souls Episcopal Church in Biltmore and the Biltmore Forest Country Club.
Dearborn was preceded in death by her husband George in 1972 and her mother Colette Hanham in 1983. She is survived by her two children, Lee Movius of Charlotte and Rosemary Steiner of Pittsburgh, by Lee’s wife Gwynne and daughter Diana, and by Rosemary’s husband Casey, daughter Lily and son Ben.
A memorial service, not yet scheduled, will be held at a later date. Memorial contributions may be made to All Souls Episcopal Church or CarePartners Hospice.