Lia deBettencourt Obituary

deBettencourt
Lia Ellen
deBettencourt
May 8, 1954
June 12, 2022

Lia deBettencourt, 68, passed away in her home in Colorado Springs, Colorado on June 12, 2022.

She was born in Washington, DC on May 8, 1954 to Dorothy "Dottie" Kinzey and Harold "Hal" Kessler. The youngest of three siblings, Lia and her siblings grew up in Maryland. Lia graduated from high school a year early and spent several years going to college and working as a veterinary technician in California. Lia joined the Coast Guard in 1977. It was there she met Mike, her loving husband of forty-two years.

Lia's Coast Guard career was full of firsts for women, as women were only allowed to join the active-duty Coast Guard in 1973. She was the first ever to complete a tour for the Ceremonial Honor Guard in Washington DC. She was the first female Coast Guard Person of the Year for an entire district in 1983 and was selected again in 1985 in a different district. In 1986, she was the first woman advanced to Chief Marine Science Technician. She became a commissioned Officer in 1986 and earned her Master's in Education from San Diego State University in 1994. Her professional passion was training and performance management. Lia introduced "Myers Briggs Type Indicator" personality inventory into Coast Guard senior enlisted and officer training. This training shapes Coast Guard leadership styles and remains a foundational element almost thirty years later. Lia retired as a Lieutenant Commander from the Coast Guard in 1997 in a joint retirement ceremony with Mike. After leaving the service they began second careers, and moved to Colorado Springs, Colorado in 2000. Lia worked until 2008 for Agilent Technologies, where she retired as an Enterprise Training Manager.

Daughter, sister, wife, mother, aunt, grandmother, and friend; Lia's love for her family and strength in her faith were tremendous. There is nothing she wouldn't do for them. Lia and Mike were blessed with three children, and two grandchildren, as well as many loving friends. You would often hear her repeating her mantra of "faith, hope, love; the greatest of these is love," and her general answer to philosophical questions was "love." Lia devoted her energies to supporting those in need, volunteering at soup kitchens on major holidays, serving as a Stephens Minister for many years, and donating to various charities and causes. She was passionate about ending the horrors that accompany the tragedy of school shootings. Lia's faith in God was ever present and she studied her faith beliefs as a lifelong endeavor. Raised in the Jewish tradition and living her life as a Catholic, Lia's faith was foundational in raising her family. She actively supported the Benet Hill Monastery in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Lia loved animals. She raised horses for years and always had at least one dog in her home. Mike sometimes returned home from a work trip to discover a new dog she had adopted. She loved wildlife and shared pictures of elk herds traversing her "backyard". Lia found new hobbies in her retirement. She taught herself and built a saltwater coral reef tank with a complex ecosystem and beautiful exotic animals. When she was not busy with a project, you could find her relaxing in her "Kauai" sunroom where she grew flowers and herbs. Lia sang and hummed when she was happy, and the family remembers listening for her quiet singing to find her in the house.

Lia and Mike traveled the world, exploring together in Italy, Scotland, France, Ukraine, Israel and New Zealand. They took frequent cruises to the Caribbean, Mediterranean, and once visited the Antarctic. She would always return from these travels with stories about what she had learned of the culture and the people she met. A lifelong learner, she read constantly and loved to learn new things. She most loved being at home with her husband and family.

She is preceded in death by her eldest son, Jon-Michael; her father, Hal; and her mother, Dottie.

Lia is survived by her husband, Mike; son, Tommy Lee (Candace) deBettencourt; daughter, Emilia Marie (Charles Knipper) deBettencour; grandchildren, Sam and Sadie; sister, Cheryl (Rick) Silverman; brother, Jan (Theresa) Kessler; and her half siblings, Shai and Ortahl Kessler.

Memorial Service, 11:00AM, Saturday, August 27, 2022, Benet Hill Monastery, 3190 Benet Lane, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80921.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in Lia's memory may be made to Everytown for Gun Safety through their website. https://www.everytown.org/about-everytown/