Hope Allison Dabney

1997 - 2024

Hope Allison Dabney was born in Tallahassee, Florida, but called so many places home over her 26 years of life: Miami, FL; Charlotte, NC; Waterloo, IA; St. Louis, MO; Claremore, OK; Tulsa, OK; Covington, LA; Warrenton, VA; Florence, SC; Auburn, AL; and most recently Macon, GA, where she worked as a Board-Certified Behavior Analyst at River Edge Behavioral Health, working with adults with disabilities. She attended Lincoln Christian School in Tulsa, where she was the salutatorian of the Class of 2015. She graduated from the University of Tulsa with honors in 2019 and earned her Masters of Science from Auburn University in 2021. War Eagle!

Hope was a gymnast, a reader, a singer, a pole vaulter, president of her sorority, a dog-mom, co-captain of the cheer squad, a bread-maker extraordinaire, a Swiftie, a Francophile, a travel enthusiast, a fierce Auburn football fan, and hundreds of other things, but her favorite title was Drew's Favorite Sister, to her elder sisters' chagrin.

Drew's autism inspired Hope at an early age to dedicate her life to helping people with autism. She had recently finished the fellowship that sent her to Macon and would have eventually gone back to school to earn a PhD and work in autism therapy. Fluent in French, she dreamt of moving to France and pioneering autism therapy in Europe.

Hope was a joyful child, and grew into a joyful adult. Wise beyond her years, she was a natural leader. She was happiest with her books, and loved supporting Gottwalls, a locally-owned bookstore in Macon.

Hope was first diagnosed with melanoma in December 2016, and within a matter of weeks underwent two surgeries to remove the cancer. Unbeknownst to her or her doctors, the melanoma had already escaped into her body, where her immune system successfully fought it off for six years. This past fall, it came back in the form of very aggressive lesions that spread through her entire body. She fought it bravely until Jesus called her home in the early morning hours of January 25th.

Hope was a cherished daughter, sister, cousin, niece, granddaughter, and friend. Hearts are broken across the country in the aftermath of her passing. She is survived by her parents Kim and Bailey Dabney; her siblings Miranda, Taylor, and Drew Dabney; her darling rescue pup Luna; her grandparents Kay Dabney, Ellen Meyer, Bob Carlson, Vicki Stewart-Moore, and Ken and Patti Weichert; and beloved aunts, uncles, cousins and friends. Hope was preceded in death by her great-grandfathers Walter Loraine Allison and Henry Vernon Clifford Carlson, her great-grandmothers Lillian Elizabeth Allison and Edna L'Homme Carlson, and her grandfathers Andrew Bailey Dabney Jr. and Clifton Martin Meyer.

A Celebration of Life will be held at the First Baptist Church in Fort Mill, South Carolina, on January 31st at 2pm, with a visitation at 1pm.

In lieu of flowers, please send donations in Hope's memory to River Edge Foundation in Macon, the non-profit where she worked. https://www.river-edge.org