DeDe Pruett

DeDe Pruett was born and raised in Minnesota and attended Catholic schools throughout her education, including grade school, an all-girls high school, and St. Catherine University (formerly the College of St. Catherine), which is now home to the largest women's undergraduate program in the United States. She later attended graduate school at the University of Hawaii. A lifelong learner, DeDe graduated as salutatorian of her high school class and was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa and Pi Mu Epsilon at St. Catherine University, as well as Beta Phi Mu at the University of Hawaii. After marrying a career Navy officer, DeDe had the opportunity to live in many parts of the country, including Castine, Maine; Monterey, California; Newport, Rhode Island; Oahu, Hawaii; Virginia Beach, Virginia; and Vienna, Virginia, before eventually returning home to Minnesota. Professionally, DeDe worked as a public librarian for 13 years with the Fairfax County Public Library system in Virginia. Her path to Encore Creativity came through this career in libraries and lifelong learning. Music has been part of DeDe's life since childhood. She learned piano from a teenage neighbor and studied it throughout high school. While piano recitals were never her favorite activity, she discovered a love for choral singing early on. As a seventh and eighth grader, she sang at daily Latin Masses and often volunteered to sing at weddings and funerals. Looking back, choral singing was the musical activity she enjoyed most. Although she did not sing with an organized choir again for many years, she continued singing at Mass and maintained her lifelong appreciation for music.