Deanna Cairns
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Deanna (Dee) L. Cairns (Dey), 86, passed away peacefully on February 21, 2026, at La Bella of Alton, Illinois.
Dee was born on January 16, 1940, in Springfield, Missouri to George L. and Edna L. (Schaum) Dey. She spent most of her childhood in Wichita, Kansas before moving back to her family’s hometown of Bunker Hill, Illinois after her father accepted a position with McDonnell Douglas in St. Louis.
While in Wichita, she was co-host of a Saturday morning children’s show in the early days of TV. Tragically, her father was killed in an automobile accident shortly upon returning to Illinois. Dee and her mother found strength in each other and their family, including Paul and Eileen Scroggins and their three boys, Mike, Mark, and Mitch, whom Dee always considered her “little” brothers.
Dee went on to graduate from SIU-Alton where she was the Spring Festival Queen in 1961. Upon graduation, she began teaching in the Roxana school system where she remained for her entire career and made life-long friends amongst the teachers, staff, and students. Her son, Mike, was told more times than he can recall by her former students that Dee was their favorite teacher.
Upon retirement, Dee went on to work as a host for several restaurants/cafes in Alton to gain experience in hopes of opening her own with her husband Hank. However, caring attentively for her mother in her final years and losing Hank shortly after precluded her from realizing this dream.
Dee lived her best life following retirement shopping, her hobby (we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention this), enjoying time with Hank and family at Lake of the Ozarks, delighting in her grandchildren and great-grandchildren and especially, doting on her cherished dogs through the years (Muffin, Maddie, and Macy). Her “boys,” Mike’s three sons, loved going to Grandma Dee’s, where the house was turned over to them as their personal playground (which never happened in their father’s childhood!). A devoted and loving grandmother, Dee lived for these visits and counted down each time until the next.
Dee touched many people with her friendship and kindness. Whether through golf, retired teacher groups, the neighborhood, friends from Lockhaven Country Club, etc… she cherished her relationships.
She married Henry (Hank) C. Cairns at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church in Rosewood Heights, Illinois on July 6, 1974. He preceded her in death on September 8, 2005. They enjoyed 31 years of marriage and adventure until Hank’s passing. They traveled to places they had never imagined seeing and often reminisced about their journeys together.
Dee was also predeceased by her mother Edna, who she adored beyond measure. Bonded by their need to support one another after the tragic loss of George, Edna and Dee shared a special connection.
In addition to her husband and parents, she was preceded in death by her stepson Steven, her sisters-in-laws Mary and Dorothy, her maternal aunts Lola and Erma; her paternal aunt and uncle Lee and Dean, her cousin Eileen, whom she considered a sister, and many others from her family.
She is survived by her son Mike, his wife Siobhan, stepdaughter Debbie Conroy, her husband Jeff, and stepson Jeff and his significant other Mona. She also leaves behind her grandchildren Justin Comereski (Briana), Caitlin Beck (Cody), Jamie Comereski, Peter, Kellan and Rian Cairns, step-grandchildren, Jeffrey Conroy, Allyssa Sunderland (Ben) and great-grandchildren Shane Beck, Jackson Doolin, Mackenzie Comereski, Malorie Beck and Harrison Comereski. She’d also want us to mention her “other” son, as she always called him, Chris Skinner, one of Mike’s long-time friends.
Visitation will be on Thursday, March 5, 2026, from 4:00pm to 7:00pm at Elias, Kallal, and Schaaf Funeral Home in Godfrey, IL. Service will be held on Friday, March 6, 2026, at 11:00am at Elias, Kallal, and Schaaf Funeral Home in Godfrey, Illinois.
Burial will take place at Bunker Hill Cemetery in Bunker Hill, Illinois.
Given her special love for dogs, we kindly ask in lieu of flowers please make donations to 5As - Alton Area Animal Aid Association. One of her beloved dogs was rescued from 5As, and she remained an ongoing supporter to the Association.
Online condolences and guestbook may be found at www.eliaskallalandschaaf.com.
Elias, Kallal & Schaaf Funeral Home
