Deborah Jean Bond

Deborah “Debbie” Jean Barnhill Bond Obituary
SUFFOLK, VA – Deborah “Debbie” Jean Barnhill Bond, age 74, passed away on Saturday, February 24, 2024, at her home in Suffolk, Virginia.

Born in Warrenton, North Carolina on January 1, 1950, Deborah was the daughter of the late Leslie Gordon Barnhill and Effie Rebecca Curtis Byrum Barnhill. She grew up in Hampton, Virginia, along with her brother, Ray Barnhill, who preceded her in death. Deborah then attended Longwood College (now University) in Farmville, Virginia, obtaining a Bachelor of Arts in English. Her first marriage brought her back to the Hampton area, where her daughter, Emily, was born in 1976. After eventually settling in Annapolis, Maryland, Deborah devoted most of the next two decades to the first of her life’s greatest adventures—raising Emily. When Emily’s daughter, Elizabeth (“Lizzie”) was born in Virginia in 1999, Deborah embarked on the second of her life’s chief adventures, helping to bring up and serving as a beloved “Mimi” to her granddaughter. After returning to the Hampton Roads, Virginia area where she and Emily raised Lizzie, she continued to faithfully commit herself to a range of administrative roles. Deborah ultimately retired from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, after over a decade of administrative service in the Philosophy and Religious Studies Department.

All who had the blessing of knowing Deborah relished her bubbly personality and abiding warmth, never forgetting her sincere and vibrant smile—a smile which, across all seasons, exuded both her love for being around those she loved and her gratitude for her life’s blessings. She nurtured many everyday loves—love of words and language, love of beautiful things and places, love of poignant movies and classic books, love of sharing hearty meals and rich coffee, love of dutiful service, love of her familial roots and heritage. Above all, however, Deborah dedicated her life to nurturing her girls, her two pride-and-joys—Emily and Lizzie Bond, who survive her—with a love fiercer than any other. To them, she demonstrated the unconditional, steadfast, immoveable, and self-sacrificial love of the Lord Jesus Christ. Though she met much struggle across her years, especially through her decades-long battle with the type 1 diabetes that cut short her time under the sun, Deborah’s love—the fierce love with which she loved both life and others—always prevailed. It is this characteristic love by which she will be remembered on this side of heaven.

A Graveside Service to celebrate Deborah’s life will be held on Friday, March 8, 2024, at 11:00 AM at the Rocky Mount Memorial Park with Rev. Matthew Ezzell officiating.

The family is hosting a Drop-In Open-House for friends and family to remember and celebrate the life of Debbie on Thursday, March 7th from 5:00-7:00PM at the Homewood Suites, 231 Gateway Blvd., Rocky Mount, NC 27804. Please join and share your memories and stories as they share in this time together.

Arrangements entrusted to Wheeler & Woodlief Funeral Home & Cremation Services, 1130 N. Winstead Avenue, Rocky Mount, NC 27804. You may share memories and condolences with the family by visiting www.wheelerwoodlief.com.