Bessie Joseph Debo

She is preceded in death by her husband, John Debo; her parents Fred and Banoot Joseph; her sisters Minnie Garza and husband Frank, Linda Joseph, Elizabeth Joseph, Bertha Donnelly and husband “Don” Donnelly; and her brother William Joseph and wife Mary; and great-nephew Alex.

She is survived by her daughter, Suzanne Debo Karam and husband Danny ; her sons, John Debo and wife Eileen and Michael Debo and wife Hope; grandchildren, Danny Jr. and wife Heather, Andy Karam and wife Lucy, Matthew Karam, Elizabeth Debo, James Debo, and Tina Stocker and husband Brian; great-grandchildren, Austin Olivarez, Nicholas Karam, Nina Karam, Natalie Karam, Celeste Karam, Kalista Karam and Scarlet Karam; numerous nephews and nieces; great-nephews and great-nieces; and innumerable friends from the parish, L’Entasar, Catholic Daughters, Houston Independent School District (HISD) and her neighborhood.

Bessie not only had a full life, but lived every stage of her life to the fullest. She was blessed with parents who knew the importance of family and who kept close ties with all their relatives. She gained much wisdom from her parents, aunts and uncles. As a young girl, she was best friends with her brother and sisters and a world of cousins. Her childhood was as full of life as any could be.

As a young woman, she maintained close relationships with these relatives and friends which always brought great joy to her heart. She worked at Bergstrom Air Force base holding a responsible job in support of the war effort. Her personal contributions included daily letters to her future husband overseas.

As a young housewife raising three children, she made lifelong friends with neighbors on the block, down the street, around the corner, in the L'Entasar Club, and visited people daily both in each other’s homes, as well as on the phone. The neighborhood was a close-knit group as was the Club, thanks in large part to her efforts.

After her husband passed away, she went to work for HISD using her amazing secretarial skills in the Program for Hearing Impaired until it was time to devote more of her attention to other interests, particularly Catholic Daughters and her grandchildren. She was very active and enjoyed her responsibilities - even into her mid-eighties she was regularly driving her grandchildren to activities and "taking the old people to church." Being a selfless person, she continually put all others first.

Bessie loved to read and was a regular at the library, checking out books - mostly murder mysteries - every couple of weeks.

She was a woman of tremendous faith, particularly to the devotion of Divine Mercy. A long-standing parishioner at St. Vincent de Paul Church, she was a proud, active member of the Catholic Daughters since 1969, Court Queen of Heaven #1844, holding the office of Regent twice, conducting committee work and inspiring others to go above and beyond in support of her parish.

Bessie’s other parish activities included being a den leader for her son Michael’s Cub Scout pack, gathering regularly on Thursdays with the Queen of Angels Guild to complete sewing projects for children, such as for the Gabriel Project of the Church, and serving as a helping hand to count weekly offertory collections.

After she stopped driving, she remained very active and continued to attend as many events as she could get to, particularly with Catholic Daughters. These commitments carried through to her time in Assisted Living, where she continued making new friends, keeping up with her longtime friends, and participating in daily activities.

The family wishes to express its gratitude to Dr. Sarah Selleck, the staff of Holly Hall Retirement Community and to Houston Hospice.

Visitation with the family (6-8 p.m.) and Rosary (7 p.m.) will be Friday, January 1, 2016 at Earthman Bellaire Funeral Home, 6700 Ferris St., Bellaire, TX 77401.

Funeral Mass will be at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, January 2, 2016 at St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church, 6800 Buffalo Speedway, Houston, TX 77025 immediately followed by a reception in the Monsignor Jamail Family Center. Following the reception, the Rite of Committal will be at Forest Park Lawndale Cemetery, 6900 Lawndale, Houston, TX 77023.

In lieu of flowers, the family would welcome donations in support of Bessie’s love of the seminarians. Contributions in her memory can be sent to:

St. Mary’s Seminary

9845 Memorial Drive

Houston, Texas 77024

www.smseminary.com