Deborah Reneé Gotviagehya

She grew up in numerous Midwest small towns enjoying school – especially math and writing. As a young girl she worked in various jobs until she graduated Washburn University with a BA in English holding 4.0 GPA. She was the editor of their “Inscape” magazine and assistant in the student writing lab. She obtained her law degree in 2003, also at Washburn. While there she organized private practice seminars, wrote and directed faculty roasts and founded the Veterans legal association at Washburn. She then spent another year at UMKC where she earned her Masters of Law in Taxation as well as earning an outstanding student award for entrepreneurial legal services. She passed the bar in Kansas, Missouri, Tennessee and Oklahoma.

She initially worked as office manager and practitioner in Topeka doing consumer protection, bail bond, forfeiture, debit and credit actions and criminal defense. She then worked in a private practice in Tennessee. She always had a very high respect for the law and found she could best serve as a Public Defender as she always championed for the underdog. Later she came back to the Midwest and took on the duties of Public Defender at the Carthage, Missouri office. She worked tirelessly for her clients, having a better than 50% win rate and was later promoted to head up the District Office out of Nevada, Missouri where she was well respected.

She met the love of her life, Jefferson Davis, while at Washburn. They spent happy years together and enjoyed each other’s quirky sense of humor. Jefferson did the gardening while Reneé enjoyed canning the surplus. She also loved writing, painting and of course, her animals.

She was preceded in death by her father, stepfather, brother, and husband. Survivors include her mother, Diana Bille and her sons Cyrus J. Cummings of Kansas City, Missouri and Benjamin M. Cummings of Overland Park, Kansas. Other survivors include her brother, Sean Beaver of Polo, Missouri, stepsister, Kathy Schwahn of Kansas City, Missouri, and sister-in-law, Barbara Bille of Bonner Springs, Kansas and her three grandchildren.

She will be remembered for her ability to assist those who cannot help themselves, her attention to detail, and her diligent work ethic. She was very intelligent and interacted well with others. She lived her life with kindness, fairness, leadership, and forgiveness. She loved her dogs and cats and did what she could to help the lost and abandoned ones.

She will be missed by those who knew her and loved by more than she realized.