Deborah "Debby" Lanell Spencer

A native Texan, Deborah (Debby) Lanell Spencer (née Johnson) lived most of her childhood in Henderson, Texas. The stretching pines and natural beauty of East Texas were foundational to her love of the outdoors, plants, and wildlife. She has passed this love to her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. As a teacher, she packed children on buses and in vans to go hiking at McKinney Falls State Park or to visit Austin’s Nature and Science Center. One family vacation she hauled her teen children across the Southwest so they could see the glories of the Grand Canyon, camping along the way, hiding out in a primitive bathroom during a tremendous lightning storm at the Guadalupe Mountains National Park. (Debby loved all of nature, but she hated storms). Her children will tell you that during that trip they saw wild horses at the bottom of a stream-fed canyon, and they can still picture the browns, greens, and pinks of landscapes from Texas to Arizona.

Debby began teaching in 1982 at Christ Community Christian School in Austin, Texas. Although, in her combined 40 years of teaching she taught every elementary grade except 4th and 6th, it was in kindergarten classes that she likely made the most impact. Debby did all the things that kindergarten teachers do and much more—she slathered hands in paint to make Mother’s Day cards, helped direct plays and musicals, led Spring Festival fundraisers, and planned field trips. Of the thousands of activities that she did with her students, she would tell you that her most impactful was helping them to learn their letters, and then phonics, and then sitting as they sounded-out their first words. In her lifetime Debby taught hundreds of children to read.

Debby loved God. She would want you to know that she was saved by grace through faith in Jesus. Debby attended numerous churches through the years and was active in prayer meetings and Bible studies throughout her life. Along with History, the Bible was her favorite reading material. She was especially moved by understanding what God’s grace meant to her, and how it had changed the trajectory of her life.

Debby was loved by and loved countless friends and neighbors through her life. Many of you who read this were one of those, so you know what it was to be part of her circle. You know her laugh, her tears, her challenges, and joys. You know that she was generous with her time, sharing insights, conversation, and burdens. You know that she loved old Westerns and Little House on the Prairie. That she never saw an animal she didn’t want to take home. You know that she was especially friendly to children and the underdog and that she loved a good steak, chocolate pie, and when she could still drink it, coffee.

Debby and Fred Spencer shared 26 years of marriage and raised two children. Though they later chose different paths, they remained unified in their love for their family. Debby would would tell you her love for her family was “through thick and thin,” and it was. Though separated by miles, she talked with her sisters often and was involved in the lives of her nieces and nephews, encouraging them as they achieved new milestones or encountered unforeseen challenges. She loved, loved, loved her grandchildren and was so, very delighted by every new picture or video of her great-grandchildren. Some of her most joyous moments were listening to her grandson sing, visiting her granddaughters, or holding and giggling with the newest great-grandchild. She prayed for her family often and by name. If it is possible, she is interceding for them still.

Deborah Lanell Spencer is survived by her son Chris (Naavic) and his wife Tina, their daughter Cheyenne and granddaughter Noah; daughter Kendra and her wife Julie; Kendra’s children-daughter Taylor her husband Landon and their children Kaia, River, Ezra, Shepherd, and Shiloh, daughter Emma and her husband Brandon and their son Arthur, and son Carson ; sister Spring and her husband Ron; sister Dawn and her husband Robert; nephew Aaron (Josh), his wife Vanessa and their children Aiden, Sophia, and Olivia; nephew Sam and his daughters Evelyn, Audrey, and Emma and son Nicholas; nephew John and his daughter Alyssa; Nephew Lucas, his wife MaryBeth, and their daughter Eleanor; great-nephew Sean, his wife Pilar, and their son Jeremiah; great-nieces Micayla, Nevaeh, and Genesis; aunt and uncle Yvonne and John Sutton; and, cousins with whom she kept in touch, too numerous to list.

Debby is preceded in death by her father Virgil Wilson Johnson, her mother Lois D. Wesson (née Hardy), her niece Sarah Dyer, and her granddaughter Caelan Elizabeth Koch.

Debby wanted to live all of her life in her own home, and she was able to do that. She died at home with family and her beloved cat Bobbie by her side.

A Committal Service will be held at Cook-Walden/Forest Oaks Funeral Home & Memorial Park, 6300 W William Cannon Dr, Austin, TX 78749, US, on July 3, 2026, at 10:00 AM.