Emilie Sandra Deal ( Dunagan; February 1, 1942 – August 23, 2022) was an American education advocate and public school language arts teacher. As the wife of

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

's 82nd Governor,

Nathan Deal John Nathan Deal (born August 25, 1942) is an American politician and former lawyer who served as the 82nd governor of Georgia from 2011 to 2019. A Republican, he previously served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. Deal served ...

, she served as the First Lady of Georgia from 2011 to 2019.

Education

The daughter of educators, Emilie Sandra Dunagan grew up in

Gainesville, Georgia Gainesville is a city and the county seat of Hall County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 42,296. Because of its large number of poultry processing plants, it has been calle ...

. She was a two time graduate of

Georgia College & State University Georgia College & State University (Georgia College or GCSU) is a public liberal arts university in Milledgeville, Georgia, United States. The university enrolls approximately 7,000 students and is a member of the University System of Georgia ...

. She received her

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

in elementary education in 1963. She received her

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

in elementary education in 1968.

Career

Before becoming the first lady of Georgia, Dunagan taught language arts at public schools for over 15 years, and retired as a sixth-grade middle-school teacher in

Hall County, Georgia Hall County is a county in the Northeast region of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 203,136, up from 179,684 at the 2010 census. The county seat is Gainesville. The entirety of Hall County comprises the G ...

. During her tenure as Georgia's first lady, she advocated for literacy and education throughout the state, for which the

Georgia Association of Broadcasters The Georgia Association of Broadcasters represents radio and television broadcasters across the U.S. state of Georgia. It is affiliated with the National Association of Broadcasters The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) is a Industr ...

awarded her their 2016 "Georgian of the Year" award. In 2015, her book ''Memories of the Mansion: The Story of Georgia’s Governor’s Mansion'' was published. Copies of the book were donated to every public library in the state of Georgia. In 2016, she served as the keynote speaker at

Georgia Gwinnett College Georgia Gwinnett College (Georgia Gwinnett or GGC) is a public college in Lawrenceville, Georgia. It is a member of the University System of Georgia. Georgia Gwinnett College opened on August 18, 2006. It has grown from its original 118 students ...

's summer commencement. In 2017,

unveiled th
Sandra Dunagan Deal Center for Early Language and Literacy
A state-funded educational institute, the center aims to provide professional development, or training, to early elementary teachers to improve the early language and literacy skills of Georgia's children by providing research-based professional development for organizations working with children from birth through age 8.

Personal life

Sandra Dunagan married Nathan Deal in 1966. She and Deal have four children. Sandra Deal was diagnosed with

breast cancer Breast cancer is a cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a Breast lump, lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, Milk-rejection sign, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipp ...

in January 2018. She completed

radiation treatment Radiation therapy or radiotherapy (RT, RTx, or XRT) is a treatment using ionizing radiation, generally provided as part of cancer therapy to either kill or control the growth of malignant cells. It is normally delivered by a linear particle ac ...

s in May 2018. On August 23, 2022, she died at her home in Demorest, aged 80, from breast cancer that had spread to her brain.

References

External links

Official Biography

Deal's Blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Deal, Sandra Dunagan 1942 births 2022 deaths First ladies and gentlemen of Georgia (U.S. state) Daughters of the American Revolution people People from Gainesville, Georgia Georgia College & State University alumni American education activists Schoolteachers from Georgia (U.S. state) Georgia (U.S. state) Republicans 21st-century American women educators 21st-century American educators Deaths from breast cancer in Georgia (U.S. state) Deaths from brain cancer in the United States 20th-century American women educators 20th-century American educators