Deborah Jean Smith LaBoone

LaBOONE Deborah Jean Smith, died peacefully, surrounded by family, at her home in Lexington, KY on Feb. 18, 2020. The cause of death was complications related to cancer. She was 66 years old. Debbie was born in Clinton, IA, the third of four children of Jean and Dick Smith. She grew up there and in Richmond, VA, where the family moved when she was ten. She graduated with a degree in psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she was a member of Kappa Alpha Theta sorority. She then enrolled at the University of Kentucky for graduate work in special education. At a meeting of teaching assistants in that program, she met her future husband, Frank LaBoone. In December 1976, Debbie and Frank received their master's degrees, married, and moved to Mineral Wells, TX, where they taught first at a school for behavior-disordered adolescents and then in public schools. They moved back to Lexington in 1979 and have lived here ever since. Debbie worked in the Fayette County Public School system for 38 years in a number of capacities: special education resource teacher, diagnostician, in the Safe Schools offce, and, for the last nine years of her career, as a guidance counselor at Jessie Clark Middle School. She loved the goodness, vulnerability, and openness of middle school students-hundreds of whom benefited from her care and counsel. Debbie and Frank raised three children in Lexington. The family enjoyed vacations every year, including trips west and the annual beach or lake week with Debbie's parents and siblings and their families. For decades, Debbie was an active member of Crestwood Christian Church, where she participated in the book club and the Room in the Inn program as well as chairing the World Outreach team and serving as a church board member. Debbie retired in 2016 and, before she became ill, filled her days with volunteer work advocating for abused and neglected children through the CASA program, reading, sewing, spending time with friends, and taking her spirited walks through the neighborhood and nearby Arboretum. She and Frank took several adventure vacations, including hiking in Colorado and bike trips in the Netherlands and Belgium. Debbie maintained close ties with lifelong and new friends and with her children and siblings and their families. She will be grievously missed by many for her empathy, keen intelligence, common sense, and kindness-all leavened by her joyous sense of humor and quick way with words. Debbie is survived by her husband, Frank; by her children, David LaBoone (Laura) of Columbia, SC, John LaBoone (Nikki Desiderio) of Golden, CO, and Kate LaBoone (Paul Vidal) of Lexington, KY; by two grandchildren (Megan and Thomas LaBoone, children of David and Laura); and by her siblings, Leslie Baldwin (Dan) of Roanoke, VA; Shelley Gotchey (Bill) of Greeley, CO; and Richard Smith (Steve Behrens) of Washington, DC. Funeral services will be held at Crestwood Christian Church in Lexington, KY, at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 22, followed by a reception in the fellowship hall. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that contributions be made in Debbie's honor to the Refugee Ministries program at Crestwood Christian Church, 1882 Bellefonte Drive, Lexington, KY 40503. www.milwardfuneral.com