Ms. Sifford taught Kindergarten at Lakewood Elementary School in the North Little Rock School District for 34 ½ years. Ms. Sifford had high expectations for her students. She worked not just at school, but after school, and with the parents, to achieve the goal of starting each child’s education off right. Students graduated from Ms. Sifford’s class knowing how to read and how to behave. Ms. Sifford loved all her students but particularly enjoyed working with the students who needed to make the most progress.
Ms. Sifford’s students, and their families, became her family. She continued to look after them long after they graduated from Kindergarten. Frequently Ms. Sifford’s students were among the top ranking students when they graduated from high school. When a former student would see her, no matter how long it had been since graduating from Kindergarten, she remembered them, frequently saying, “Of course I remember you, we spent 187 days together when you were five!” She loved catching up on the lives of former students and giving them advice about continuing their education through college and beyond.
Debbie was born in Bakersfield, California in 1955, traveled with her air force father and mother to Newfoundland and later moved to Sherwood Arkansas. Debbie graduated from Sylvan Hills High School in 1973, and obtained a BSE in Early Childhood and Elementary Education in 1977 from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. That was followed by a Masters degree in Education in 1979, and she continued to expand her education holding an additional 45 graduate hours above Masters.
As a professional educator, she took an active interest in local, state and national educational policies and was active in the Arkansas Education Association, regularly attended school board meetings, and was frequently called upon for expert opinions on educational issues by parents and other professional educators.
Ms. Sifford retired from teaching in 2012, and soon after begin providing daily care for her parents, Basil and Connie Sifford, who predecease her in death. She is survived by her sisters,Laura A. Sifford Gehrki and husband Brian, Connie G. Sifford and former husband Mark Brown, her brother, James W. Sifford. and his wife Tammy. Debbie is also survived by her nieces and nephews, whom she adored: Jason Blue Brown, Ashley Brown, Amanda Sifford Hughes, Husband, David, Holly Sifford, and Madeline E. Gehrki. She is also survived by a great nephew Bryson Hughes and great niece Haley Hughes.
The family will receive visitors at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, January 24, 2023, at Griffin-Leggett Rest Hills Funeral Home, 7724 Landers Rd. North Little Rock, AR 72117. Funeral services will be led by Rev. Bobby Acklin on Wednesday, January 25, 2023 at 1:00 p.m at the Griffin Leggett Rest Hills Funeral Home with interment to follow at Rest Hills Memorial Park.
SHARE OBITUARY
v.1.11.3