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Debra Barnes

April 24, 1952 ~ November 19, 2022

Debbie Barnes was born in Long Beach, California. Educated in public schools by a post war family that valued education, she was successful at high school, University of California Santa Cruz and University of California Berkley. She received her PhD in Endocrinology at Berkeley, taught Anatomy and Physiology at Berkeley, Mills, California School of Podiatry, and finally at her favorite, Contra Costa College for 35 years. She taught generations of nurses and other health professionals. Many moments later in her life reacquainted her with her students when she was a patient.

Debbie was able to travel extensively, namely 4 times to Botswana for animal viewing, but also relationships with Setswana who have become great friends.

Debbie was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2018 and her life saved by treatment and surgery at UCSF. She found Dr. Oliver Dorigo, at Stanford in 2019 and was in essential remission from stage 4 until a routine scan in December 2021 demonstrated pancreatic cancer. Unfortunately she had too many metastases even after adjuvant chemotherapy. The oncology department was less than supportive, but she persevered. She decided that chemotherapy side effects were too much in August, and her symptoms progressed to where she suffered a great deal despite a robust hospice effort by Continuum Hospice of Concord. She had fought the battle and was getting no better. She maintained control to the end. A wish for all of us. With all my love Debbie, Bill. We thank all who loved her, and all who cared for her.