We can tell you her name was Debbie Mateos. Debbie was 70 years old when she left this world, but she lived a life that was anything but ordinary. She was married to her beloved “Papi,” Fausto Mateos, for 41 years. Together, they built a life filled with love, laughter, silliness, and a bond that was truly one of a kind. 

Debbie was the proud mother of three children: Jennifer Trohkimoinen (Scott Trohkimoinen), Christina Sells (David Sells), and Joshua Mateos (Lauren Mateos). But if you really wanted to see Debbie light up, you only had to mention her grandchildren. She loved her grandbabies more than anything in this world: Abbie, 18; Jack, 15; William, 12; and her newest little love, Nora, 1. 

Debbie lived her life to the fullest and always with a smile on her face. She was one of the funniest, sassiest, most loving people any of us had ever known. She had a personality that filled a room, and a laugh that could make everyone around her laugh right along with her. Perhaps the greatest thing about Debbie was her strength. She was a fighter unlike anything we had ever seen. At 50 years old, Debbie suffered a massive heart attack—one that most people would not survive. But Debbie did. She survived because she wasn’t finished living. She wasn’t finished loving. She wasn’t finished making memories with her family, and for the next 19 years, she fought. She fought through challenges that would have broken most people, and she kept going. Even after receiving a heart transplant, Debbie fought with everything she had to stay here with the people she loved. Her body eventually became too tired to keep fighting, but her spirit never gave up. 

After retirement, Debbie and Papi took one of the biggest chances of their lives. They sold their home and moved to their happy place in Florida, where Debbie loved soaking up the sunshine on the beach and enjoying restaurants with her husband. She absolutely loved her retirement community and the people who became her second family. They loved her, cared for her, and became such an important part of her life. 

And then there was Bingo Tuesday. Debbie loved playing bingo, and when she won—and she won often—she would proudly yell: “WINNER, WINNER, CHICKEN DINNER!” 

She loved lobster. She loved playing poker. She loved listening to Teddy Swims. Even when she was sick and seemed too tired to do much of anything, if you played his music, her eyes would pop open and she would sing along. She loved to be silly with Papi, too. He would dress up in ridiculous clothes and parade around the house just to make her laugh, and he always succeeded. Debbie also loved to “shock” people on social media. She would post things that were guaranteed to get her temporarily banned, and honestly, it was always worth it if it made her laugh. Debbie was practically a regular resident of social media jail. When our family got together, there was always so much laughing that, well… some of us may have even peed a little. And if you knew Debbie, you know she had a favorite line that she used often: “You…” 

We would finish the sentence here, but then Debbie’s obituary might get banned too. So just fill in the blank with your favorite spicy word, and you’ll probably get pretty close. 

That was our Debbie. 

She was funny. She was sassy. She was loving. She was stubborn. She was strong. She was fiercely loyal. She was unapologetically herself. 

She was the glue that held our family together. 

Debbie gave everything she had to this life and to the people she loved. She fought so incredibly hard to stay with us, but on September 30th at 6:40 p.m., surrounded by her loving husband and her children, Debbie peacefully left this earth. While our hearts are shattered, we find comfort in knowing that our wife, our mom, our grandmother, and our friend is finally at peace. She is no longer fighting. She is no longer in pain. 

We will keep fighting our way through this life. We will keep laughing. We will keep telling her stories. We will keep her traditions alive. We will carry all the love she gave us until the day we can finally embrace her again. 

Debbie has now been reunited with her beloved parents, Frank and Jacqueline Hester, and her sisters, Sharon Poole and Sandy McCrory. 

She will be missed more than words could ever explain. Her laugh will be missed. Her sass will be missed. Her crazy social media posts will definitely be missed. 

But most of all, Debbie will be missed because she was Debbie—and there will never be another her. 

We love you always, wife. 

We love you always, Mom. 

We love you always, Grandma. 

We love you always, Debbie.