Debbie was a beloved mother, daughter, sister and aunt, born in NC but grew up in Auburn NY, moving to NH in the early 70's and then to FL in the 90's. She had a very long and successful career in the IT industry and loved every minute of it. After she got her degree, she started as a programmer in the early 80's when computers were brand new and very few women were in that field. She was a real trail blazer. She never saw herself that way, she just lived her life the way she wanted to and didn't see barriers, she just kept moving forward and finally she worked her way up to CMO of an internet company managing several of their offices. She once ran a web meeting from a hospital room and they were none the wiser. When she was admitted, her first question of the nurses was "do you have wifi here?" They were flabbergasted. She was also an avid gardener, seamstress, loved to cook and paint and was extremely generous almost to a fault. She also enjoyed travelling and snorkeling. She suffered from heart valve damage from rheumatic fever as a child. She had heart surgery at age 36 to replace one valve but by her early 50's it was failing. She had a second surgery in February 2009 and another valve was replaced but sadly it was too late, too many other organs had been damaged. She survived 13 months after that surgery but she never gave up hope. She was making plans for her life ahead right up until the end. She planned to buy a condo and get a new job, she was always an optimist. She had posted her resume online only days before she died. She was a huge heavy metal fan and has seen Metallica, Van Halen among others live many times. It was kind of an ironic contrast to her professional daytime life. She left behind her only daughter, mother, sister, 2 nieces and a nephew and many cousins and an aunt and uncles. We will miss the laughter most of all, she was one of the funniest people any of us ever met, she was my best friend as well as sister, but we try to remember that she is smiling next to us. She was laid to rest with our brother, father and mother, finally at peace and not in pain. I'm smiling Next to You............ How I wish, how I wish you were here
We're just two lost souls swimming in a fishbowl year after year
Running over the same old ground, what have we found?
The same old fears, wish you were here