Lavonne DeBakey Pharm.D.

A third-generation Houstonian, Lavonne developed a strong work ethic at an early age. When not in school she could be found volunteering in the community or working in the neighborhood. Lavonne graduated from the College of Pharmacy at The University of Texas. For some twenty-five years, her pharmacy license provided the backdrop for multiple endeavors in service and in healthcare. After losing her first husband to a heart attack, she worked to establish a Memorial Lectureship in his name at Baylor College of Medicine, where Dennis Woznicki, a popular young pathologist, had served on the faculty.

Lavonne was a charter member of Baylor's Huffington Center on Aging development board. She served as well on the boards or councils of the USO, Open Door Mission, Rotary Club, The Living Bank, (a registry for organ donation), and organized events for Medical Bridges, Harris County Hospital District Foundation, and many other organizations. In 2011 she received a commendation from the US House of Representatives that read, "A remarkable Texan who has achieved remarkable things in her career, and for our community."

In 2011 Lavonne was selected to be a Channel 13 Woman of Distinction by the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation. She received the Living Bank's Glen W. Karsten Memorial Award for humanitarianism. And she personally organized the inaugural participation of the USO in the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo's World's Championship Bar-B-Que Contest. In 2012 Lavonne chaired the American Heart Association 's Heart Ball. She served on the Council for Houston Methodist Hospital's Center for Performing Arts Medicine as well as the University of St. Thomas' Nursing Advisory Council. And in 2015 Lavonne found time to earn a doctorate degree in Pharmacy from the University of Colorado, while still being the primary caregiver for her disabled mother, Iris. Earlier this year Lavonne and her partner of over a decade, Denis DeBakey, were married in the Weiss Chapel at Houston Methodist Hospital.

Lavonne will always be remembered by her many friends and family for her extraordinary courage and her innate generosity, kindness and consideration. She demonstrated the ability to perform with excellence both in her healthcare career, rising to an executive position in the Memorial Hermann system, and in her multiple, disparate humanitarian efforts. Lavonne's mission was to enhance opportunity and put an end to pain and suffering for others. She looked wonderful in the process and always seemed to be enjoying the action. Never flustered, impatient, or annoyed, somehow Lavonne always managed to make it look easy!

The family would like to thank Dr. Putao Cen of Memorial Hermann Healthcare System and Dr. Robert Wolff of M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, together with their staffs, for their kindness, consideration, and dedicated professionalism.

A memorial service celebrating her life is to be conducted at three o'clock in the afternoon on Thursday, the 15th of December, at St. Martin's Episcopal Church, 717 Sage Road in Houston.

Immediately following, all are invited to greet the family during a reception to be held in the adjacent Bagby Parish Hall.