Debra Jean Boswell Corpora

1952 - 2024

Debra Jean Boswell Corpora was born August 21, 1952, in Hearne, Texas to Eddie and Florence Boswell. She was raised on Wheelock Street in a little house across the street from the hospital where her mother worked. She grew up playing in the streets of her neighborhood and became slightly infamous for the pranks she would pull if the boys wouldn't let her play with them. She attended Hearne schools throughout her childhood and graduated from Hearne High School in 1970.

After graduation Debra enrolled at Texas A&M in one of the first classes that accepted women into the university. She worked to put herself through school and graduated in 1975 with a B.S. in Education and later earned her master's degree in the same field. She was a proud Aggie her entire life and religiously followed every sports team from football to track and field.

During her final years of college, she met a local Hearne boy named Sam Corpora. They fell in love and were married in 1974 until Sam's death in 2020. She loved children and during the early years of their marriage, Debra worked as a teacher in Hearne at both Blackshear and Eastside Elementary Schools. She loved to teach, and she loved to learn and was fond of saying that learning never ends no matter your age.

After the birth of her son Matt in 1977, Debra left Hearne schools to focus on being a wife and mom. Her daughter Cara came along in 1982 and she lived for both of her children, making every holiday a special occasion. She made sure that her kids had every opportunity that she didn't have growing up, from summer camps to trips to the Grand Canyon to Astros road trips with the team. She was a terrific mother.

In 1987 her desire to teach led her to joining the faculty at Allen Academy in Bryan, Texas. She was instrumental in starting the preschool department at Allen and was the director for 17 years before retiring in 2004. She taught hundreds of kids over the years, and many would keep in touch with her over the decades.

A new chapter in her life began in 2004 when she moved part-time to Rockport, Texas and quickly integrated herself into the community. She became renowned in Rockport and Aransas County as a birder, conservationist and naturalist. She served for many years as the President of the Aransas Bird & Nature Club, was an important member of the Hummingbird Festival Committee and was on the Board of Aransas Pathways for many years, playing a huge role in the development of birding sites and structures across the city.

Thousands of birders from around the world come to Rockport to enjoy what she helped build. She was known for her TV and Radio appearances in the area and one of her proudest moments was when she spoke in Federal Court on behalf of The Aransas Project in a lawsuit against the State of Texas over freshwater rights to our bays and estuaries. Debra was well known in the area for her knowledge of the plant and bird world and was always ready to help.

Debra loved travelling, Airedale Terriers, Aggie sports, the Houston Astros, the NBA, gardening, native Texas plants, astronomy and science, lemon slushies from Sonic, silly dances, reading, learning, teaching, her husband, her children, and her family. Debra was fierce, determined, passionate and talented. She will be sorely missed by those who loved her and knew her.

Debra was preceded in death by her husband, Sam Corpora; her daughter, Cara Corpora; her parents, Florence Debruhl and Eddie Boswell; and her Stepfather, Sonny Debruhl. She leaves behind her son, Matthew Corpora, her brother, Ed Boswell and sister-in-law Laura Boswell. Her brother-in-law Joe Corpora, her sister in law Audette Foyt, her sister-in-law Priscilla Maltabes and brother-in-law John Maltabes; nephews Tray Boswell, Jason Boswell and Joseph Foyt; niece Genie Humphries; great-nephews Oaklen Boswell, Carter Humphries and Preston Foyt; great nieces Anna Grace Langston, Madison Boswell and Elizabeth Humphries. And her beloved dogs Nico and Arlo.

Memorials can be made in her name to Aransas First, the Texas Ornithological Society, the International Crane Foundation, and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.