Deborah Ann VanLandingham

Deborah Ann VanLandingham, of Kensington, Maryland, on Saturday, April 27, 2019.  Beloved wife of J. Philip VanLandingham; mother of Eric VanLandingham and Kristen VanLandingham; sister of Glen Lehr (Carol) and Bill Lehr (Carol).

Debbie devoted her entire life to the church, nursing, and her precious family.  She was especially proud of her forty-one years of marriage.

She graduated from the University of Cincinnati as a Registered Nurse in 1973 and then joined the Navy Nurse Corps. She served first at the Bethesda Naval Hospital where she met her future husband. After their marriage the Navy sent her to earn her Master of Science in Nursing at Catholic University. Following her graduation in 1984 she served at Naval Hospitals in Guantanamo Bay Cuba; Charleston, SC; the Territory of Guam; Quantico, VA; the USNS Comfort Hospital Ship in the Persian Gulf and Orlando, FL where she retired from the Navy in 1995.

During her retirement speech from the Navy, she spoke these words:

“Today I can look back and say it was truly an honor for me to be a part of the Navy these 20 years. There is a flood of all different emotions. One chapter of my life is coming to a close, but God, in his goodness has given me other greater blessings, my husband Phil, a wonderful marriage, my beautiful children Eric and Kristen, and my family to enjoy. My greatest challenge now is to them, to be all I can be for them. I think each phase of our lives requires commitment, sacrifice, honor, and a willingness to achieve your very best. As I have always trusted God to direct my path, I look to him to direct my future. None of us can see around the bend in life, what lies ahead, but I hope always to be faithful to fulfilling whatever challenge He allows me to face, and I thank Him for the past 20 years, I thank Him most of all for the gift of family, friends, and life itself, and I thank Him for the future and all that lies ahead.”

True to her words, after retiring from the Navy she devoted herself to raising her children – Eric and Kristen and supporting her husband. As the children reached adulthood she reentered Nursing as a Civil Servant Diabetes Educator at the Army’s Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, DC. After retiring from the Civil Service in 2013 she loved having the time to dedicate herself to the church and her family – her two true loves.

She will be dearly missed by her family and friends. We are happy she is finally at peace with her Lord.

Visitation will begin at 10:30am on Friday, May 3, 2019 at Holy Redeemer Catholic Church, 9705 Summit Ave, Kensington, Maryland 20895, where the Mass of Christian Burial will begin at 11am.  Interment at Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to The Colorectal Cancer Alliance, https://www.ccalliance.org/donate, or to The Myositis Association, https://www.myositis.org/donate/.