In Memoriam: Deborah Bone
We at Right to Life of Central California are deeply saddened to share the news of the death of Debby Bone, our beloved, longtime supporter. Debby passed away peacefully the morning of October 8, 2020.
Debby was more than just a friend to Right to Life. She was at various times an employee, volunteer, board member, donor, mentor, confidant, advisor, and more. She deeply loved Right to Life of Central California. Its staff, its work, its board, its events, and its activity were all close to her heart. Debby was a woman who loved deeply, and that love was extended to all of us in the broader Right to Life family. She brought so many people—friends, family, supporters, volunteers—into our organization, and our lives are all richer for having known her.
Right to Life will forever be marked by Debby’s imprint. As our Development Director, and later as a board member and volunteer, she was instrumental in helping build our Christmas Dinner and Auction into one of the largest and most spectacular charity auctions in the western United States. She constantly kept in front of herself and our staff the central purpose of our work: “It’s for the babies!” Particularly in the runup to the Christmas Auction, when staff members or volunteers would be nervous about finances or other concerns, she would remind everyone, “It’s God’s auction!” She trusted that God would faithfully provide for those engaged in His service, and her focus was always set on the goal of serving Him faithfully through our work.
Debby is survived by her loving husband, Tim; her children Tim, Mike, Mary Grace, and Stu, along with their spouses (respectively) Shelly, Leanne, Zak, and Deniz; and her grandchildren Allison, Izzy, Jack, Kathryn, Savannah, Blair, Adele, Gus, and Caleb. We wish them all of our love, prayers, and heartfelt condolences in this time of loss. We also extend particular condolences to our board member Larry Holody and his wife, Renae Holody, who is Debby’s sister.
Every year at our Auction, we present our honorees with a plaque inscribed with the following quote by the famous pro-life legislator, the late Congressman Henry Hyde. Debby was always so deeply moved by these words, and we believe they apply directly to her life of service in the cause of life:
“When the time comes, as it surely will, when we face that awesome moment, the final judgment, I’ve often thought, as Fulton Sheen wrote, that it is a terrible moment of loneliness. You have no advocates, you are there alone standing before God — and a terror will rip your soul like nothing you can imagine. But I really think that those in the pro-life movement will not be alone. I think there’ll be a chorus of voices that have never been heard in this world but are heard beautifully and clearly in the next world — and they will plead for everyone who has been in this movement. They will say to God, ‘Spare him, because he loved us!'”
Please join us in remembering our dear friend, Deborah Grace Belford Bone, who loved that chorus of heavenly voices so deeply. May her soul, and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.