Deborah Arthur Dribben

Deborah Arthur Dribben passed away on September 2, 2026 in Blue Springs Missouri. Burial will take place at the Post National Cemetery, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, where she will be interred with her husband, Charles, who preceded her in death in 1991. A memorial service will be held at Mt. Moriah Newcomer & Freeman Funeral Home, 10507 Holmes Road, Kansas City, MO, on September 19th, 2026 at 2:30 PM.

Debbie was born August 21, 1934, at St. Luke’s Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri, the daughter of Henry and Elizabeth Agee Arthur. She graduated from Barstow School in 1952 and attended Vassar College for two years. She then attended the University of Missouri, Columbia, and graduated with an A.B. degree in Political Science in 1956. That same year, she was awarded a Fellowship to Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, to earn her Master’s Degree in Municipal Government. In 1957, she married Charles P. Dribben, a lawyer and Army officer. They were blessed with three children; Diana, Douglas, and David. Debbie loved her years as an army wife, cherishing the people she met, the places she went, and the opportunities for personal growth and education she experienced. But first, she was a devoted wife, mother, and grandmother. Sharing experiences with, and watching life unfold for her children and grandchildren provided the greatest of pleasures for her!

Along with that, she was also a dedicated volunteer for both military and civilian projects.

As a military wife, she served as president of the Judge Advocate Wives’ Club in Washington, D.C. and of the Officers’ Wives’ Club at Fort Riley, Kansas. She was also active in Army Community Services and the USO. In civilian life, she was a member of the Kansas City Missouri Junior League, Delta Gamma Fraternity, Pi Sigma Alpha National Political Science Honor Society, and the University of Missouri Alumnae Association. She was a BOTAR in 1956. She was a past board member of the Woman’s City Club, the St. Luke’s Hospital Auxiliary, the Hospitalized Veterans’ Writing Project, the Barstow School Alumnae and the Kansas City Vassar Club. She was a member of the Westport Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, and served as its regent twice. In 1987, Debbie was appointed by Governor John Ashcroft to serve as a member of the United States Bicentennial Commission for Missouri. Debbie also volunteered for Reach Out and Read, and through her church chaired an Outreach project which provided supplies to the Kansas City Rescue Mission, now known as ShelterKC. She was a member of St. Peter’s and All Saints’ Church where she was a licensed layreader and Eucharistic minister, as well as a past member of the Vestry.

Because of her love of history and travel, Debbie enjoyed the role of interpreter/guide at various sites around the country. She volunteered at the Washington International Center in Washington, DC, under the auspices of the State Department, gave tours through the Missouri State Capitol in Jefferson City, Missouri, volunteered at the Truman Library in Independence, Missouri, and was one of the founding staff of the National Frontier Trails Center Museum in Independence, Missouri, where she arranged tours and gave talks to schoolchildren and visitors as well as to civic organizations. One of her later posts as volunteer and interpreter was at the Liberty Memorial/National World War I Museum in Kansas City, Missouri, where she served for six years following the reopening of the Liberty Memorial in 2002.

Debbie is survived by her daughter, Diana Lucas (James), Southlake, Texas, her son, Douglas (Kim), Odenton, Maryland, and her son, David, of Independence, Missouri. She also has grandsons, Jimmy Lucas (Molly), of The Woodlands, Texas, and Adam Lucas (Marie), and great-grandsons, Patrick Lucas, William Lucas, and Henry Lucas, all of Hinsdale, Illinois.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests contributions to the World War I Museum and Liberty Memorial, 2 Memorial Drive, Kansas City, Missouri, 64108, to Wayside Waifs, 3901 Martha Truman Road, Kansas City Missouri, 641237, or to St. Peter & All Saints’ Episcopal Church, 100 East Red Bridge Road, Kansas City, Missouri, 64114.