Deborah Lea Hocutt

1959 - 2025

Deborah Lea Hocutt

August 30, 1959 - November 27, 2025

Deborah L. Hocutt, 66, of Hanover County, passed away on November 27, 2025, at her home. A native of South Norfolk in Chesapeake, she was the daughter of Cora A. Wood and Felder M. Wood.

Deborah was a graduate of Oscar F. Smith High School in Chesapeake, Va., Wesleyan College (now University) in Virginia Beach, and Regent University in Virginia Beach. Prior to disability caused by long-term illness, she worked for 10 years as executive director of Columbus Rose, Ltd., serving as literary manager. Before entering literary management, she taught AP U.S. History and U.S. Government at her high school alma mater and at Patrick Henry High School in Hanover, followed by work as a library educator and director of the Virginia Center for the Book at the Library of Virginia. She published the first novel in the Jamestowne Chronicles historical fiction trilogy, A Settler's Passion, in 2023.

Survivors include her husband, Daniel L. Hocutt; her loving daughters, Sydney G. Hocutt, and Emily F. Hocutt; and her beloved beagle, Sadie. She was predeceased by her parents; her brothers, Michael Allen Wood, and Hoy Hampton "Lucky" Wood; and her adopted godparents, Bill and Bertie Selvey.

In accordance with Deborah's wishes, services will be private. Inurnment will occur at a later date in the University of Richmond Columbarium and Memorial Garden. To honor Deborah's memory, she requested that memorial donations be made to Cherish Children Adoption International (ccaifamily.org), the agency that traced the red threads connecting Deborah and Daniel in Virginia to Sydney in Yongning, Guangxi Province, and Emily in Wuhan, Hubei Province, in the People's Republic of China. May her memory be a blessing.