Donnadeen "Dee" Elaine Neal Braxton, age 95, passed on to her eternal home on Monday, November 16, 2021. She was born to Sophia and Quince Neal in Dodge City, Kansas. After high school graduation, she and her parents moved to Florida in 1944 where Dee studied nursing at Tampa General Hospital as part of the U.S. Army Cadet Nurse Corps. It was there she met her future husband, Thomas E. Braxton, an ambulance driver in Tampa. After their marriage they followed Sophia and Quince to Hammond, Indiana, where Dee worked as a Staff Nurse and Nursing Supervisor at St. Margaret Hospital in Hammond and Our Lady of Mercy Hospital in Dyer; and Tom worked in supervisory positions at American Steel Foundries in East Chicago.

Dee was a very active member of Woodmar United Methodist Church in Hammond and  Benson Memorial United Methodist Church in Raleigh, North Carolina. She enjoyed traveling adventures: visiting the Rocky Mountains, the Blue Ridge Mountains, New Orleans, and the Holy Land. She celebrated her 70th birthday by cruising in a hot-air balloon. She later retired to Raleigh, North Carolina and spent her final months with her daughter Donna Cant in Moyock, North Carolina.

Dee was preceded in death by her husband, Thomas E. Braxton, Sr.; her parents: Quince and Sophia Neal; sister, Audre June; and grandsons: Brian Houchin and Michael Cant, II. Dee is survived by her daughter, Laura (Dennis) Houchin; son, Thomas E. (Michelle), Braxton, Jr.; daughter, Donna (Michael) Cant; grandchildren: Keith (Amanda) Houchin, Alison Houchin, Brandy (fiancé Claudio Romero) Braxton, Thomas M. Braxton, Douglas (Joan Alano) Braxton, and Melanie Braxton.  She is also survived by her great grandchildren: Emma Houchin, Alexis (Jonathan) Anardo, Michael Thurman, and Shelby Thurman. Surviving great-great grandchildren are: Ivey and Jacob Anardo; and many wonderful nieces and nephews.

A Funeral Service will be held on Saturday, December 4, 2021 at 8:30AM at LaHayne Funeral Home 6955 Southeastern Avenue Hammond, IN with Rev. Cindy Reynolds officiating. Burial to follow at Chapel Lawn Memorial Gardens, Crown Point, IN.  Friends are invited to meet with the family on Friday, December 3, 2021 at LaHayne Funeral Home 6955 Southeastern Avenue, Hammond, IN 46324 from 2:00 PM until 8:00 PM.

For questions regarding services, please call LaHayne Funeral Home at 219/845-3600