Deborah Hartshorn Pool

Debby Pool was born in San Diego in 1930 to Duane and Helen Hartshorn. Duane was a doctor and serving on active duty, hence the fact she was born outside of Colorado. The family soon returned to Fort Collins, which the family considered to be home.

During WWII, Duane was recalled to active duty and commanded a field hospital unit. This duty saw the family spend time in northern California and Tennessee before returning to Colorado when Duane was sent to Europe while Helen managed the family affairs.

After the war, Debby continued her schooling in Fort Collins. After graduating from high school, she headed to Carleton College in Minnesota. Debby believed that her curiosity and lifelong desire to learn were stimulated by her time there. Debby graduated from Carleton in 1952 with a BA in zoology. Debby also left Carleton with a delightful group of women friends who lived in Denver and met for lunch and bridge for many years.

Following Carleton, Debby enrolled as a grad student at Columbia. Somewhere along the way, Floyd Richard "Dick" Pool, Jr., the son of the Hartshorn's good friends Floyd and Nellie Pool, became enamored of Debby, going so far as to drive to New York to propose to her. She said yes and left school to become a homemaker and mother.

The new family eventually settled in the mid-century modern Arapahoe Acres neighborhood in Englewood. Three children later (David, Vicki, and Diane), Debby became involved in the children's schools and public education became her passion.

Debby became a four-term member of the Englewood School Board, including two terms as president, much to the dismay of her children who were still attending those schools. During her time with the school board, Debby served on several task forces and committees at the state level, including soliciting the legislature for increased education funding. After leaving the school board, she worked with local school accountability committees and tried to increase cooperation between schools and community agencies.

At some point, she became interested in historical preservation. She participated in the effort to get Arapahoe Acres designated a National Historic District, the first post WWII modern subdivision to be so recognized.

Following Dick's passing in 2000, Debby kept busy with Spanish classes, golf, seminars, plays, and the CSO. She spent many pleasant evenings in the company of her friend and fellow Carleton alum Sonya Ellingboe, an entertainment critic, attending plays and musical events, almost inevitably following dinner at various restaurants.

Debby became unable to maintain her independent lifestyle due to rapid deterioration caused by dementia. For a few months she lived in assisted living, followed by a year and a half in memory care. She then moved to a skilled nursing facility until her death.

Debby is survived by her three children, David, Vicki Lenox-Pool (William), and Diane Seidule (Kevin), grandchildren Terra Seidule, David Seidule, Maggie Pool, and Spencer Pool, and a large extended family. Debby was preceded in death by her parents, husband Dick, and her siblings Diane and Denny.

Debby was known to various people as, Debby, Mommy, Grandma, and Auntie Dee, and will be missed by her friends, cousins, children, grandchildren, and nieces and nephews, and all that extended family.

A celebration of life will be held on November 20, 2021, from 1:30 PM to 4:30 PM at Angelo's Taverna, 6885 S Santa Fe Drive, Littleton, CO, 80120.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Englewood Arts or the Colorado Symphony Orchestra.