John F. Debs

John F. Debs

June 26, 1937 - February 11, 2016

John F. Debs

June 26, 1937 - February 11, 2016

Obituary

John Frederick Debs went to his Lord on February 11, 2016, age 78, after a brief illness.

Born in Los Angeles, Fred lived a larger than life role, bringing joy to everyone he met. He knew no strangers.  His intelligence and wit were staggering – he spoke seven languages, had vast encyclopedic knowledge of diverse subjects from science to history, and always won at Jeopardy. Educated at St. Francis Assisi and 3 & 4th grades at St. Charles Borromeo, Loyola High School and University, he attended dental school at Creighton University in Omaha where he met the love of his life, Anne. They celebrated 54 years of devoted marriage. 

He was a prominent and beloved dentist in San Clemente whose dedicated patients praised his painless, beautiful work completed during recitation of non-stop jokes. Fred was immensely proud of his 43 years of continuous military service, first as a naval officer and Vietnam Veteran and later in the Army Reserves. He developed profound, life-long friendships which sustained him. He took pride in his Lebanese heritage and looked forward to his weekly luncheon meetings with the Loafers.  Intensely curious, he loved to read, travel and spoke daily with his family to stay connected with their lives. He was kind and generous, always genuinely interested in how he could help and mentor others. 

Fred is survived by his wife, Anne; sister, Annette Debs, CSJ and brother, Ralph Debs; son, Tony and daughter-in-law, Lillian Soohoo; daughter, Julianna and son-in-law, Daniel Purner; and seven granddaughters and one great-grandson. We will all miss his vivacious presence.

Services will be at Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church, San Clemente, CA on Friday, February 19th. Visitation is from 10:00-10:30 AM with mass at 11:00 AM.

In lieu of flowers please consider a donation to:

St. John Maron Maronite Catholic Church
300 S Flower St.
Orange, CA 92868

Loyola High School
1901 Venice Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90006

Loyola Marymount University
1 Loyola Marymount University Dr.
Los Angeles, CA 90045

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28 responses to John F. Debs

  1. Condolences to Anne & the family. We shall cherish our memories of Fred. We were always made to feel very welcomed by his gracious, friendly and jovial demeanor.
    And most of all, we were always mesmerized by his life’s stories. We feel very blessed and privileged to have known Fred. Hyman & Susan

  2. TIM HECHT says:

    Anne, I’ve been praying for you and your family during this difficult time. Your friendship has been a blessing the past 30 years, especially all the memories of Fred and the San Clemente poker group.

    God Speed,

    Tim Hecht

  3. Dick Fuher says:

    Goodbye my dear friend. May the Holy Spirit shine upon you.

  4. John E. Debs says:

    My dear cousin Fred was more like a brother to me as he was to so many of you. We can all say that we knew a true believer and a genuine friend. He was so loving and personal that he was really interested in everything that we were doing. I know that we will all have a dear friend in Heaven waiting to greet us when we arrive.
    Blessings and best wishes, John E. Debs

  5. We met Fred & Anne at out Church, Our Lady of Fatima, in San Clemente. I was Class of ’55, high school, like Fred, so we would reminisce on the boys from my grammar school, who Fred knew at Loyola High.
    My husband, Kevin was in The First Friday Friars group with Fred, alums of Loyola. He enjoyed listening to Fred’s intellectual knowledge, on almost any subject.
    He was one great guy, who we will dearly miss.
    God bless you, Fred.
    Sue & Kevin Connolly

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