A Celebration of Life for Debby Hill

Only seven weeks after receiving a lung cancer diagnosis, we tragically lost my mother, Debby Hill, on August 28th. During her final weeks, I was thoroughly humbled by how many people called or came to support her personally. Her reach was so broad; she touched people from all walks of life with her vibrant and passionate personality. She turned out to be by far the most popular person I know.

My sister, Veronica, and I had the privilege of hearing directly from Debby how she wanted to be remembered. She didn't envision her memorial to be anything like a traditional funeral -- no procession, no caskets or burials. She didn't want to be mourned. She wanted to be celebrated!

Veronica and I are planning a celebration of life (as my mom would describe it, a big ol' party) so we can all come together and share memories, pay respects, and be thankful that we got to know such a beautiful person. Any assistance you can provide would go towards helping us procure food & beverage, memorialization, and live music (to honor perhaps Debby's greatest passion). Anything left over will be donated to All In For A Cure, a charity pursuing a cure for Rett Syndrome, which affects her eldest daughter Jo.

We are tentatively planning this event for Saturday, September 10 at a venue to be disclosed but near the Loveless Cafe just outside Nashville. Look out for an official event page, probably via Facebook. We will share it on her profile, and we'd love to see you there.

*to anyone wondering, her favorite number was 11.

UPDATE 8/31: We are incredibly moved by the generosity fueling this campaign. We hit our initial goal after only 48 hours, and Veronica and I are just speechless about it. Also, the folks reaching out to volunteer or lend a helping hand in organization...humbling is all we can say. Considering our mother's sphere of influence, we anticipate a large turnout at this event. Although we set a goal of $5011 and reached it expeditiously, we welcome any additional donations towards the updated goal and will carefully consider how they can be used to enhance the event. Thank you all again from the bottom of our hearts, and we look forward to seeing many of you next Saturday.