Kolden, Deborah Ann
On September 18 of 2017, at 10: 50 p. m., Deborah Ann Kolden, 65, passed away, surrounded by her family.
Deborah was born, July 11th, 1952 to Rev. Oliver Wendell Hoover and wife Georgia in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Her mother would pass while she was young. Her father later married Kate Embry Hoover. Deborah was the youngest of three behind her brother Howard and sister Gail. She grew up wearing handmade clothes, singing four part harmony and loved playing with her siblings and cousins. She graduated from Malvern High School. She went to college on an academic scholarship, earning a bachelor’s degree at Henderson University and a Masters of Science from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.
In 1976 she met Larry Kolden. On December 22 in Chicago, Illinois. they would get married. It was a small ceremony. Larry’s 8 year old son Joshua was best man. The minister cried when they read their vows.
That same year Deborah began her career as a Speech Pathologist for the Chicago Public School system. A career she was passionate about, even after she retired 34 years later.
In May 1980, Deborah gave birth to their son Christopher, followed by their daughter Leia in 1984. Years later she would open her home to friends of Christopher’s, Keith and Scott, and treated them as her own.
Deborah kept singing harmony on local stages with musician Tom Dundee and best friend Robin Rauch. They would even sing on the radio together.
Deborah was the enthusiastic grandmother of Christopher’s son Oliver, Leia’s children Astrid and Sebastian and stepson Tom as well proclaiming herself Grandmother to Scott’s children Sage and Quinn.
During this time Deborah earned her second Master’s degree in Reading and Literacy from Concordia University in River Forest, Illinois.
In the years after she retired Deborah fulfilled a lifelong dream to travel, visiting among other places Ireland, the Netherlands, and France.
Deborah Ann Kolden worked hard her entire life. She never stopped. Even in the last years as she battled cancer, she faced it head on, eyes open and smiling. She had an impact on the lives of those she loved, and spent her life own trying to improve the lives of others. Her family is devastated by her passing, but better for having had her.
She is survived by her husband Larry; sons Joshua and Christopher; her daughter Leia and husband Sean; her grandchildren Oliver, Astrid and Sebastian, and Tom; her brother Howard; her sister Gail; as well as her children- in- spirit Keith, Scott and his children, Sage and Quinn and their mother Jocelyn.
The family will hold a memorial visitation for friends and family in their home from 2 p. m. to 8 p. m. on Saturday September 30th.