Rainsford Bayard Dedman

She was born in Spartanburg, S.C. on October 2, 1917, the second of five children of John William MacDowell and Rainsford DuBose MacDowell. Babs spent her formative years in Gaffney, South Carolina enjoying her large family. At age 18 she joined a dance troupe that toured New York City and Washington, D. C. demonstrating the Jitterbug, the latest dance craze. While visiting her older brother, DuBose, at the University of the South, Sewanee, TN, a school her forbears helped found following the Civil War, she met her future husband, Bertram Cottingham Dedman of Columbia, TN. They were married in Spartanburg in 1938 and moved to Washington, D. C. where Bert was employed at the Justice Department while finishing his degree at George Washington University Law School. In 1942, their first child, Rainsford DuBose, was born. That same year Bert was commissioned by the Navy and sent to its Russian Language School in Colorado. Babs' life was suddenly to become much more interesting. Following his graduation, Bert was posted to Marmansk in remote northern Russia as an Attaché. After World War II ended, Babs and their 3 year old daughter were permitted to join Bert in Murmansk, traveling by Liberty Ship for 28 days to be met in Odessa on the Black Sea. This was very challenging for a young mother as she faced difficult conditions in the 9 months they were there. As the Cold War escalated, the family was forced to flee Russia, through Finland, before getting a ship home. Soon the family settled in Virginia and Bert rejoined Justice's Anti-Trust Division. They would remain in Virginia for the next 10 years. While there, Ella Bibb, their second daughter was born. After a brief time in Southern California, they finally settled in Devon, PA where the family made their home for the next 25 years until Bert retired as General Counsel of INA Corporation in Philadelphia. At that point, Babs and Bert moved to Columbia, TN where they lived until moving into Nashville's Richland Place. This new chapter in their life was marked by many happy years filled with new friendships, travel, summers at Monteagle, and their membership in St. George's Episcopal Church. Babs loved and appreciated her long and amazing life. She harbored no regrets about never having had an outside career. She was totally fulfilled being a fulltime wife and mother, a fabulous cook, and a beautiful and charming hostess. Babs and Bert were a perfectly matched and devoted couple with many friends all over the country. They enjoyed 66 years of marital bliss until his death in 2005.

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