A force of nature both inside and outside Our Lady of Angels parish in Fort Saskatchwan, longtime administrator Deb Hume has died after a short—but true to form, fierce—battle with pancreatic cancer. She was 62.
“It’s a huge loss for our family. She was definitely our glue,” said Teghan Hume, one of Deb’s two daughters. “She was stoic and proud and just creative, such a beautiful, beautiful human.”
The funeral will be held on March 1 at 10:30 am at Our Lady of Perpetual Help (OLPH) in Sherwood Park. For those unable to attend in person it will be livestreamed on the OLPH website. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the University of Alberta Hospital’s “University Hospital Foundation.”
Born and raised in Edmonton, Deb worked as an administrator with the Edmonton Police Service. Teghan said: “If things had been different, in a different time, she might have gone into be policewoman.”
Deb answered the call for an office manager at Our Lady of Angels parish when the family moved to Fort Saskatchewan. She worked for the parish for nearly 20 years, an environment that Teghan said her mom described as “welcoming and warm. She was really happy to have, essentially, another family.”
“She was very humble in her faith,” Teghan said. “And you could see the love of God and the love that she would spread to others. I think she really took the ‘Love one another as God loves us’ to heart. I think that’s really the most important.”
Deb had the perfect temperament for the parish as office manager.
“I think having really good organizational skills, and being quick-witted, she was able to make sure that the office ran efficiently and effectively,” said Teghan, even when the parish would welcome a new pastor.
“I don’t know if ‘training’ is the right word, but she definitely was able to help mould [new pastors] into a stronger version of themselves! All of them had so much respect for her and have nothing but good things to say about her.”
Sometimes they would ask to speak to her first.
“So often when people came to the parish office they were disappointed when I was the only person in the office at the time as they wanted to talk with Deb which I understood because she had gotten to know so many people,” said Fr. Carlos Nunez, the pastor of Our Lady of the Angels parish. “Deb did a great job at the ministry of being present to many visitors at the parish office who were just lonely and needed company and someone to talk with.”
“Anyone who spends the better part of two decades at a parish working for priests has a strong faith,” added Fr. Kris Schmidt, the former pastor of Our Lady of the Angels parish who has known Deb since 2018.
“She was the rock for the people of OLA and surrounding communities as they experienced change. She knew the people of the parish better than the pastor.”
Fr. Kris added: “Deb became more important to me than I could know during the (COVID-19) pandemic when I was isolated from others; her and I spoke all of the time and processed everything together.”
Those relationships are so strong that they carried through even after her cancer diagnosis. Fathers Jim Corrigan, Francis Mariappa and Kris Schmidt came to be together with her when she was in hospital. Deb was able to sit them and reflect on their time together.
“Deb was a friend, a colleague, and a confidante,” said Fr. Jim Corrigan, who has known her for more than 20 years. “She lived her faith, raising her family, and serving her Church. More poignantly, this beautiful soul showed me faith lived beautifully, in the most challenging of circumstances.
“The news of Deb’s sudden and short life prognosis was devastating to me, as it was to many. The times I visited Deb in her final two weeks, I met a woman of faith, who accepted her situation, with deep faith and a quiet joy. A woman who had no regrets, who was grateful for what God had given her, particularly her family.”
Teghan Hume said: “It was really beautiful just seeing the smiles as they reminisced about the years together. It was humbling to see their love for her as well.”
Deb’s ministry of service and hard work will not be forgotten. The parish will be planting a tree in memory of her and naming its waiting/coffee room after her where she often drank tea and spent time with parishioners on her breaks.
As a mom, Deb carried that love through the front door as mother to her two daughters Teghan and Marina.
“She was very good about keeping us in line,” Teghan said. “She wanted the best for us. She was never shy about her opinions and expressions, but the amount of love that came behind it, you could always feel.”
Deb poured her passion into everything she did, from shaping clay into beautiful works of art as an active member of the local pottery guild, to sewing Halloween costumes for friends and family.
Teghan’s favourite was when Deb made her a costume of the Star Wars character, Queen Amidala. “It looks like out of the [movie] set. Between her and my dad, they would engineer things. It was fantastic.”
An avid cyclist and runner, Deb competed in half-marathons and portions of the Death Race ultra-marathon. Later, she was part of a dragon boat rowing team on the North Saskatchewan River.
Less than a month ago, Deb experienced back pain. But as a lifelong athlete, she powered through it. When the pain persisted, she went to hospital. She was later diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and within a short time she died.
Even in their grief, Teghan said family and friends are taking lessons from Deb.
“She wouldn’t back down from a challenge,” Teghan said. “She showed me, and my sister: Don’t back down from a challenge. Go, push yourself outside your comfort zone and try something new.
“You might fail, but that’s OK because, at the same time, you’re going to have a great time. You’re going to make great friends. You’re going to be so thankful for the opportunities that life hands you.”
Deb is survived by her loving husband, Ken, as well daughters, Teghan, Marina and her partner Rachel.