Debra Jean McDowell

Debra “Debbie” Jean McDowell of Lincoln, NE died on October 9, 2024. She was born on August 5, 1951, in Hebron, NE to William and Margaret (Sykes) Hughes. She married Tyre J. McDowell in Marysville, Kansas on October 23, 1971. They were married until Tyre’s passing on April 25, 2022. Tyre and Debbie were among the early couples who married after the laws preventing interracial marriage were overturned by the Loving v. Virginia Supreme Court decision in 1967. Two sons, Tyre “T.J.” Jr. and Clarence “Bookie,” were born into this union.

Debbie graduated from Lincoln High School. She worked as a Certified Nursing Assistant at Tabitha and operated an in-home childcare program. Although she worked outside the home for several years her main priority was raising her two sons. She was a loving and devoted mother. She demonstrated her love in many ways including ensuring her boys had a hot breakfast every morning before school from kindergarten until they graduated from high school. She was also a loving grandma who enjoyed calls and visits with her grandchildren.

Debbie was preceded in death by her husband, Tyre McDowell, of 50 years, her parents, brother Williams Hughes, Jr., and Sister Linda Acker. She is loved to the moon and back by her surviving family members including her sons T.J. McDowell, Jr. (Angie) and Clarence McDowell (Crystal), Daughter-in-Law Becky; Sister Suzy Mann, Grandchildren Tyana, Jordan, and Mason; Great Grandchildren Lucia, Julian, Amelia, and August; and numerous other extended and adopted family members.

A celebration of Debbie’s life will be held on Saturday, October 19, at 2:00 pm (the Husker Game will be almost over) at Lincoln Memorial Funeral Home, 6800 South 14th Street, Lincoln. www.lincolnfh.com