Debra Hill (dear friend)

Beads of Joy 05-01-10

Dedication Days - Debra Hill Moore (dear friend)
©2010 James Dacey, Jr. SFO

Dedication Days
Hello Everyone,

Welcome to yet another fantastic day for me to give dedication to someone well deserving of it. I could write many pages for today's precious soul. I will keep it as short as I possibly can, but the whole story gives you the best insight to one of God's most precious souls. Debbie has since gone to be with the Lord, far too young and she is missed by many friends and mostly by her three precious kids, Philip, Joseph and Miranda. I use to work with Debbie for many years in the Seneca Niagara Casino, when we lived in Niagara Falls, NY. She was my supervisor, and a very dear friend. Here's how I first met her. >> My boss (Mike) met me at the Human Resources office at the casino, the day before I started, he said to me, "Be at the Security Podium at 3am tomorrow, Debbie your supervisor will meet you there." Well I did as I was told, I got there, sat and waited; in the interim I met many of my soon to be new friends. Mind you we are all wearing these black, with gold trim one piece jump suits, with no pockets. I worked in the vault so the rules were strick, and they had 35 cameras monitoring us. Anyhow, as we were chatting, coming around the corner, there was this very beautiful, young (she's my age) looking, very attractive blonde (super bleach long blonde hair), in a gold jump suit with black trim. I was like, "Wow, who's this?" I tend to be drawn to blondes, it's a weakness of mine, ok I admit that.

Needless to say I was very happy that Debbie was going to be my supervisor and trainer. Maybe I initiated the flirtation, or maybe she did, either way we became almost instant good friends, spending all our work hours (countless hours for years) talking. She was at the time we first met going through a very bad divorce with a man who was abusing her physically and verbally. I kept my distance, but gave her unwavering support, a shoulder to lean and an ear to listen. She and I had two common friends that we worked with, (Jackie and Brian) of which were friends of ours through Our Lady of Fatima's Shrine in Lewiston, the place I speak of all the time, where Fr. Peter is. I volunteered there a lot, I was also a Eucharistic Minister there. So I and they told Debbie all about my big family, and that I wasn't available. LOL. So Debbie and I kept a very respectable, fun flirtatious relationship the entire time we knew each other. I admit I liked a lot, she was a sweetheart, no doubt; for my heart ached at the pain she was suffering at home, no one deserves to be treated that way. So in the background I was always praying for her everyday. She never seemed to want to pursue anything to do with her faith or Jesus related, she was born and raised a Roman Catholic, all I could do was pray for her, and talk to her about Jesus. There was one time late in our friendship that she pulled me aside and said others in our group mentioned my name in regards to planning something to have her fired; people can be so mean. She wanted to see what was said. I looked her straight into her eyes and said, "Deb are you kidding me, my allegiance is with you, I am on your side, I always got your back, how can you ever think otherwise. I have no idea what's going, but I will find out for you." She looked me back in my eyes, with tears in hers, saying,"I knew you'd never hurt me, I just wanted to hear it from you. Thank you." That situation further solidifying and bonded our friendship. I honestly would never hurt her, this poor girl was suffering enough. She never asked for help, but she needed emotional support and friends she can rely on.

I must admit there was a certain magic in our friendship, she knew everything there was to know about me, as I did her, she always use to say she wanted one more baby. No, nothing ever happened, not even close!!! She knew my faith, my story with my love for Jesus, and my love for our Blessed Mother, making rosaries, and my devotion and love to my family; we really talked to each other covering pretty much every aspect of each others lives. We had so much in common. I always tried to get her to come back to church, but she always said she would but never did. And then as I had hoped and prayed, one Sunday at Mass at the shrine, who was sitting in the last row with our friend Brian, It was Debbie!! I was like,"Chrissy look, it's Debbie !!" Chrissy was never a big fan like I was. LOL. I told Chrissy everything about how Debbie was making her moves on me when I first met her, I guess guys just get goofy around pretty girls; but I also told Chrissy never to worry, we're just really good friends, and she trusted me. But she knew that Debbie and I spent many hours a week together talking and she knew Debbie had been divorced by this time. But I was a good boy, a very good boy. Debbie was kind of a cross between a close sister and a married woman I loved and adored; meaning nothing could, would or have ever happened between us, we were family. Anyhow, Debbie was all shy that day at Mass, and she didn't want to talk, she just waved and was gone before Mass was even over. A couple weeks later she said that she'd like to have coffee with me one day after work, I just looked at her with my smirk. She was like,"Not that, this isn't a date.". LOL. She then told me, "You said something to me that really changed my life and I wanted to tell you all about it." I was like,"Was it for the good?", she was like, "Absolutely!" She then said, "I really want to share this with you, it's changed my life." Well within a couple months of that, I left that job to take on a management position to a local business, it had normal day hours and better pay.

After I left the casino, I only saw Debbie every once in a while at Wal-Mart or the Dollar Store, and I always use to see all my other friends from the casino. I always asked about everyone, most especially Debbie. We saw each other one final time at the shrine, and we committed to getting together for coffee, so she can tell about how her life is now and how it has changed, but we never did. About a year went by and I was still seeing everyone from time to time throughout the area; we all lived in the same area, shopped the same stores. Then this one final time we as a family ran into Jackie in Wal-Mart. I was like,"Hey Jackie !!" always big hugs for my Shrine sister Jackie. She then backed off and looked so sad, or befuddled. I was like,"Is everything OK?" she said,"Did you hear about Debbie?" I gave her a huge smile and even a little giggle, "Tell me, is she finally having another baby, like she always wanted." Jackie almost cried looking at me, all serious, I said, "What happened Jackie?", I didn't know what to think, she looked at me shocked, "You don't know?" I was lost now, "Don't know what?". She held her head down and said, "Debbie passed away." I was crushed, I mean literally like my heart was being crushed in a vise. I didn't know what to say, the entire rest of that day went blank on me, I honestly don't recall it. My heart and my head couldn't believe what I was hearing. A young beautiful woman I adored, a hard working single mom, who has just come back to our Lord, is gone now. I cried and cried and cried and I still get a tear every once in a while thinking about her. I am always praying for her and her kids. I can't fully explain the connection we had, but we just did. I'm sure she is so happy with Jesus, I so wanted her precious heart and soul to be with Him.

And I never got to know what it is that I said to her that changed her life. For years now that has bothered me like crazy, I only hope that whatever I said to her to help encourage her faith I have said again and again to others. I just wish I knew exactly what it was I said. I think that's part of the inner sharing part of me now, that just keeps sharing. I really try my best to share a lot, and I try to do all I can to help direct others to Jesus. I always pray asking guidance with my words, thinking about the depths of so much of my faith I shared with Debbie.

Also whenever I hear Barry Manilow or Johnny Mathis, I immediately think of Debbie, she use to play so many of their CD's at work; and oh my god, she could not carry a note, but I think she did all that for the laughs. She was incredible. And in the end I just know Jesus got to enjoy that special quality about her. I pray that she got super big hugs in Heaven upon her arrival.

Today I salute you: Debbie Hill Moore
Who has since gone to be with the Lord.
You are always, always, always in my heart and you always in my prayers.


Your brother in Christ Jesus & His Most Blessed Mother,
Jim (The Rosary Man) Dacey Jr SFO