Column: Missing an old friend

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Opinion column

by Mary Rupert

I am missing an old friend, Debra DeCoster, who died March 26.

Debra, 62, was a staff writer for the Kansas City Hispanic News for the past 16 years. I first met her when I was asked to edit her freelance stories many years ago at the Kansas City Kansan. She also was a freelance writer for the Star and other publications. Her stories won many awards in different contests through the years.

Some years ago, Debra and I served on the board of the Kansas City Press Club, and she served in many different officer positions, including president from 2010 to 2012.

I remember her mainly for her support of local journalists through her many years of volunteer work with the Press Club. She did quite a lot of volunteer work for the Press Club when she was on the board.

For several years, Debra also helped as a panelist at local candidate forums in Wyandotte County, another volunteer position.

I was always glad to see Debra when we occasionally were at the same events. The last time I saw her was March 5, 2020, at the mayor’s speech in Argentine, before a lot of events shut down.

Debra was a very kind person, and also volunteered with Operation WildLife, helping injured animals. This, I believe, tells us more about her life than a lot of other information. To quote William Wordsworth, “The best portion of a good man’s life is his little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and of love.”

To see Debra’s obituary, visit https://www.maplehillfuneralhome.com/obituaries/Debra-Decoster/.

To reach Mary Rupert, editor, email [email protected].