Rideau Obituary 318

The most resilient of Georgianne’s eleven children was not Columbus, the eldest brother. Nor was it James the Marine or Darryl the U.S. Army veteran. It wasn’t Michael the Texas track champion nor Cheryl our high school track and field speedster. No, it wasn’t Byron the business entrepreneur. It also wasn’t Queen the Easter princess or the mischievous twosome Charlotte or Damon. And it wasn’t me, Rodney the nerdy bookworm. It was the Cinderella of our motley brood, our oldest sister, Deborah. She made the sure the beds were made, the dishes cleaned, the floors swept and mopped. She brought in laundry from the lines, scrubbed the bathrooms, and kept the youngest in clean diapers. She offered solace when we were sad, cheered us up when we were blue. She encouraged us when we thought we had failed, and inspired us because she never faltered — no matter what obstacle life threw in her path. The woman many of you may know as Miss Cool was Deborah Anne to us, her brothers and sisters, comrades and confidants, allied in a childhood bond that could never be broken. We laughed together, cried together, dreamed of brighter futures together. She was our glue, the one constant that would remain with each of us. Most importantly she was our touchstone when deciding if our course was morally or ethically correct, when determining if our actions would be judged as right or wrong, whenever we found ourselves asking “What would Deborah do?” She was cool because she was unshaken, as steady as a mountain, never wavering, and always there for you. Deborah Anne will never be missed because she will never leave us. She will always be there when we watch a Dallas Cowboys game, drink a Coca Cola, admire a garden or vegetable patch, or see a German Shepard Dog romping in a park. She’ll be there every time we celebrate a birthday with Toya or a holiday with Wilma. We’ll see her in our dreams and hold her in our hearts until our own last breath is taken. We gather on this day to celebrate a life and remember it in all its joy. Any sadness and heartache she had is gone, any nightmares have ended. All that is left are the memories of a life well-lived, the legacy of the lives she touched, and the eternal love of those who knew her best. Rodney Rideau She would lose herself in a sea of books, reading tales of love and mystery and fantasy that carried her to places she dreamed would one day be hers to conquer.