Deborah C Connally

Deborah (“Debbie”) Connally, loving wife, mother, teacher, and friend passed away following an extended journey with Alzheimer’s on October 18, 2023 in Houston, Texas surrounded by family. She was 70 years old. Debbie is survived by her beloved husband, Mark Connally, her children Katherine McDonald and Kaylan Connally, Katherine’s husband Ian, and her brother, Mel Callender and his wife Kathy.

Debbie arrived in Winnsboro, Louisiana, on November 15, 1952, to lifelong educators Bernard and Mildred Callender. In the 1960s, the family made their way to San Marcos, Texas, where Debbie later attended college. While on a trip home in 1976, Debbie received an unsuspecting call from a young man named Mark who wanted to play handball with her dad. Bernard was unavailable, so Mark asked Debbie on a blind date. After four sweet dates, Mark and Debbie married in 1977 and moved to Corpus Christi and later Houston, where they settled.

Like her parents, Debbie loved teaching and pursued a career in education. She earned her Bachelor’s in Elementary Education and Master’s in Reading from Southwest Texas State University. Debbie started as a kindergarten teacher in Temple, Texas, and later spent most of her career at Northbrook High School in Houston, where she taught struggling readers. Debbie served with love and believed in the power of relationships. She got to know her students as individuals and supported each student to realize his or her full potential.

Debbie also taught Sunday school at Tallowood Baptist Church and served as the church liaison with Memorial Assistance Ministries (“MAM”). After retiring from teaching in 2008, Deborah volunteered at MAM, teaching refugees how to read, speak, and understand English. She later served as President of the MAM Council for several years.

Debbie loved to travel with her family—from the annual Connally family ski trip to Park City, Utah, to countless trips to visit her daughters throughout the Northeastern US, to various adventures throughout Europe with her love Mark.

Mark thanks Debbie for the beautiful Christian life she led, the positive influence she had on so many, and the persistent faith she demonstrated through her illness. Mark shared that even toward the end, Debbie dreamt of instructing students.

Please join us in celebrating Debbie’s life. After a family graveside service, a Celebration of Life Service will be held at Tallowood Baptist Church, 555 Tallowood Rd., in Houston on Friday, October 27 at 2pm, followed by a reception at 3pm.

Should friends or family wish to honor Debbie with a contribution in her memory, please send to Tallowood Baptist Church at the address above; Memorial Assistance Ministries at 1625 Blalock Road, Houston, TX 77080; or the Capital of Texas Chapter Alzheimer’s Association at 5508 West Hwy 290 Suite 206, Austin, TX 78735.