Deborah Lynn Thomas

Deborah Lynn Thomas, born to Claude Harris and Virginia Hoffman in Houston, Texas, on March 15, 1954, was given to us a blessing, with her steadfast and all encompassing love, beauty and effervescent personality until the Lord called her home on June 27th, 2026.

A true beacon of love, light and faith in this world, Debbie brought joy, care, compassion and her adventurous, fun-loving spirit to everyone who knew her, as a loving and loyal daughter, wonderful big sister and supportive friend, a caring, knowledgeable and skilled clinician, therapist and teacher, and the best wife and mother her family could have ever asked for.

She loved life to the fullest and brought that with her to everyone she knew and everything she did. She loved music and sang, laughed and danced through life, loved to swim, travelling and experiencing new things. She loved to read, always appreciated a flower, and was always affectionate to her animal companions. She loved the beach, loved art and culture, explored her family roots in Tennessee, enjoyed vacations from Florida to California, visited Israel and the Netherlands, Mexico, Italy, and climbed the Vatican.

Debbie loved her family deeply, and longed to be there with and for her parents, Claude Harris, David and Virginia Scott, brothers Davey and William Scott, sisters Rhonda Tuttle, Cathy Wilkerson, Nancy Stietenroth, and Eva Orlop, sister-in-law Nancy Jernigan, and her beloved nieces and nephews. She thrilled at every opportunity to visit or host them.

Always the 'social deb', Debbie truly just wanted to be included, in everything going on and anything those she loved were getting up to, but would naturally end up the center of everyone's fun, with her boundless enthusiasm, infectious smile and uproarious laugh. You couldn't spend much time with her without finding yourself having a good time.

Debbie was so cool and so fun. If you enjoyed anything, she would let herself get absorbed in it right along with you, and find real joy in it. And then she'd come out with insights you hadn't even considered. If you were working on something or struggling, she was there to support you. She legitimately wanted to understand whatever it was and help in whatever way she could. If there was some kind of disagreement, Debbie didn't hold grudges, but would forgive you, and kick your butt until you got out of your rut and worked it out. Because she loved you that much.

Debbie was highly intelligent and highly social. As a child, she was a member of the girl scouts, and carried practical lessons learned there throughout her life. As a teenager, she joined the Conroe High School Pep Squad, and in college, was a member of the SFA Choir at Stephen F. Austin State University.

She loved language, was fluent in French, learned German from her grandfather, and initially pursued a career as an airline stewardess or interpreter before settling on Speech and Language Pathology as her major.

Debbie earned a Bachelor of Science degree as a Texas licensed SLP at SFA, and proceeded on a remarkable and well recognized forty-six years career, twenty-nine years for public schools and seventeen as a private contractor, working for numerous agencies and individual clients, and was later thrilled when her niece, Kathy Leedy, followed into her profession.

Debbie was recognized for her clinical expertise, commitment to her students' and patients' progress and achievements, which she privately celebrated even at home, her professionalism, and the lasting friendships and professional relationships she built along the way.

Debbie was the sweetest person you could ever know. Lisa, an agency recruiter from Washington state, shared that while Debbie had always had employment secured elsewhere when Lisa called with an offer, she would call Debbie anyway whenever she was having a bad day, because she knew that talking to Debbie would brighten her spirits.

As a wife of fifty-one years to her husband, Randy Thomas, Debbie was adventurous, outgoing, creative and full of life, always ready to go out and enjoy life together. She loved going out to eat and to the movies, to concerts and plays, and discovering the world. As a minister's wife and a central figure in churches across much of East and Central Texas, she supported her family fiercely in the ministry, was a consistently powerful soprano in the choir and took part in planning, organization and work in youth groups and outreach initiatives. In trying times, she more than carried her share. They would laugh, pray, persevere and celebrate together. Speaking of her family, she would say, "The most important thing we have is each other."

As a mother to her son Craig, she taught him how to sing and speak, read, write and draw, to swim and play, to always stand up for himself, to value joy, faith, light-heartedness and a free spirit, and how to say "I love you" in five different languages. She encouraged a love of music, art and culture, creativity and playfulness, academics and athletics, and supported him in every aspect of life.

Debbie loved our Lord Jesus Christ, and held rock solid faith, pursuing a personal relationship with Him throughout her life and operating in many of the gifts of the Spirit. As her mother before her, she was a reliable prayer warrior, intercessor, and a naturally gifted healer. She was eager in giving and forgiving, and poured out every ounce of herself for those she loved, no matter how difficult the circumstances.

Debbie exhibited relentless love. She would show the same powerful drive to heal a broken heart or a wounded spirit as she would a broken body.

Following serious injuries and an extremely difficult period where for years, her son couldn't open or close his mouth to sing or speak, bite or chew food, or turn his head or raise his arms, or even smile, she employed her skills and clinical knowledge as a caretaker and therapist to help him recover. She would relentlessly encourage and sing to him, pray over him, and talk him through it all along the way, until those limitations would only persist in memory.

When her husband suffered congestive heart failure, he underwent what was originally scheduled to be six hours of open heart surgery. When he awoke twenty-four hours later, Debbie was there holding his hand, with gospel and praise music playing. She had asked him early on, while sedated, what music he wanted playing.

In her last few years, she would maintain a vibrant life, continue in steady employment, take on private work, and continue to take vacations and visit with family near and far. She would enjoy her time together with her husband and her son, and those she loved and cared for as she always had, and continue with whatever necessities were apparent. She would spend hours everyday with her son, counciling, praying, singing, listening to music, talking about everything going on, having coffee, chocolate, tea or cider together at home. She was my best friend.

Her persistent love, care and affection would follow after whatever heartbreak or painful place you might be fighting through, and leave you unable to keep yourself from feeling better, no matter how difficult the situation might be. Even in times of her own heartache, she'd call you out and end up trading your ashes for joy, thanksgiving and camaraderie. She wouldn't give up on your happiness, and everyone who truly knew her would find themselves grateful for it.

Those preceding Deborah into Heaven -
Father - Claude Harris, Step-Father - David Scott, Mother - Virginia Scott, Brother - Davey Scott, Brother - William Scott.

Those who remain -
Sisters - Rhonda Tuttle, Cathy Wilkerson, Nancy Stietenroth, Eva Orlop
Sister-in-Law - Nancy Jernigan
Husband - Randy Thomas
Son - Craig Thomas
Nieces & Nephews - Holly, Chris, Sarah, Mark, Evian, Christopher, Kent, Angela, Kathy
Several Beloved Grand Nieces & Nephews