Deborah “Debbie” Arntz

LEXINGTON, Fla. – Deborah “Debbie” Arntz passed away on Dec. 21, 2024, at Lexington Health and Rehabilitation Center where she had resided since September due to Parkinson’s Disease.

Deborah was born Deborah Conley on April 6th 1945 in Portland, to Marjorie Paige Conley and Joseph Conley. She had one younger brother, David Conley who passed away in 2014. She attended Deering High School, graduating in 1963. She then attended college first at Gorham State Teacher’s College and then the University of Maine at Orono, graduating in 1968.

Debbie married Robert Read in 1970. They initially lived in White River Junction, Vermont. There she gave birth to her first son, Jason Read in November of that year. They later moved to Fredericton, New Brunswick and Baltimore, Maryland. There she had their second son Jonathan Read in 1974. The family then moved to Shaker Heights, Ohio in 1977 where Debbie lived until she retired to Pinellas Park in 2011.

Debbie and Robert divorced in 1980. Debbie remarried twice, once to Charles “Chuck” Arntz in 1988 and later to Clint Hileman in 1995.

Debbie worked multiple careers, working first as an art teacher, and later running the day camps and after school programs for Cleveland Heights schools, providing an enriching and supportive space for children whose parents worked long hours and during school vacations. She eventually become director of the Stepping Stones Daycare for the city of Cleveland Heights. In the late eighties Debbie changed careers to focus on eldercare, first as an activities director for Chippewa Place (an assisted living community) and later with the Western Area Agency on Aging where she served as Manager of Housing and Related Services until she retired in 2011. Debbie’s focus in that career was to make it so that everyone, regardless of income or background, lived out their retirement in comfort and within a supportive community. The one constant of her career throughout all of these changes was care. Whether Deborah was working with young children or retirees, she brought empathy, integrity, and care to everyone she came in contact with. It was not uncommon for her to be stopped on the street by people she had taught as children, the parents of kids she had cared for in daycare, or those who she had assisted in finding housing. Everyone who knew her spoke of her kindness and ability to maintain a cheerful and uplifting perspective.

Debbie loved animals, especially dogs. During her life she adopted Smokey (a German Shepherd/Labrador mix) and Stollie (a German Shepherd/Corgi mix).

Debbie’s hobbies included painting, fishing, crafts, and card games. She always sought to be actively involved in every community she lived in, editing newsletters, volunteering, and contributing crafts and baked goods to raise funds for various causes. She was a pillar of the community of Park Royale in Pinellas Park where she resided with her partner David Harmon from 2011 until late 2024. There she taught exercise classes, edited the community newsletter, ran weekly games and activities, and was active in the community arts and crafts.

She is survived by her sons, Jason Read a Professor of Philosophy at the University of Southern Maine and Jonathan Read an artist and musician residing in Houston, Texas, and her partner David Harmon of Pinellas Park. 

A private ceremony celebrating her life will be held in Portland.

In lieu of flowers Debbie asks that donations be made to the Parkinson’s Foundation, 5757 Waterford District Drive, Suite 310,

Miami, FL 33126.