Plan for the Future
Katrina Leeb Debevoise
Katrina Leeb Debevoise, beloved wife of Judge Dickinson R. Debevoise, died peacefully in the company of her family on May 24, 2015 at her home in Summit, New Jersey. She was born July 7, 1926 in Orange, New Jersey to Katrina Stephenson Leeb and Henry Lorent Leeb. She was raised in South Orange and attended the Buxton School (Far Brook School) in Short Hills, New Jersey, and the Miss Beards School in Orange, New Jersey. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Vassar College in 1947.
In 1940, Trina’s parents took into their household two of the thousands of British children sent to the United States in anticipation of a German invasion and to escape ongoing mass German bombing raids. The two children were Patricia Jeans (age 13) and Paul Jeans (age 10), whose father was a captain in the British Navy. Patricia and Paul lived with Trina’s family for four years until after the war, attending school here and becoming, in effect, Trina’s brother and sister. After their return to England, they and their parents remained in close touch with Trina and her parents.
After graduating from Vassar, Trina attended the Radcliff Publishing Course and subsequently worked as an editor for the Columbia University Bureau of Publications and the Commonwealth Fund. She kept her skills sharp by close correction and editing of her family’s spoken and written language throughout her life.
Trina married Dickinson R. Debevoise on February 24, 1951, and during his subsequent military service they lived in Crewe, Virginia, and Littleton Common, Massachusetts. Their first child was born in the Fort Devens Army Hospital. Following Dick’s service, they lived in Cranbury, New Jersey for one year and then moved to Short Hills, New Jersey, where they raised their family of four daughters and lived for 49 years before moving to Summit, New Jersey.
Trina spent part of every summer surrounded by family and long-time friends at their beloved family cottage at Mere Point, Maine, where she had spent her summers since childhood. There, she enjoyed sailing and picnicking on the waters of Casco Bay.
At home, Trina was active in St. Stephens’s Episcopal Church, singing in the choir for many years, and served on the Board of and was an active volunteer for Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan New Jersey. She was a long-term member of the Overlook Hospital Twig and a local reading group of a close circle of friends. She was an avid reader throughout her life, and always the first in the family to discover and recommend the next “must-read” book. After her father’s death, she assumed for many years the management of Walnut Hill Farm, her parents’ dairy farm in Gladstone, New Jersey.
Trina is survived by her beloved husband, Dick, and by four beloved daughters, Kate Debevoise of Yarmouth, Maine, Josephine Davies of New Canaan, Connecticut, Mary (Molly) Rennie of Short Hills, New Jersey, and Abigail (Abby) Boozan, of Short Hills, New Jersey. In addition, Trina is survived by Josie’s husband, Ralph Davies, Abby’s husband, John Boozan, seven grandchildren, Ralph Davies, Heidi Davies, Samuel Davies, Katrina Rennie, Victoria (Tory) Rennie, Gerard (Brooks) Byrne, and Philip Byrne, and by three step-grandchildren, Peter Boozan, Matthew Boozan, and Henry Boozan.
A memorial service will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, June 6, 2015 at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Millburn, New Jersey. For further information, or to send the family a condolence, please visit, www.www.bradleyfuneralhomes.com.
For those who wish to make a memorial contribution, any of the following are suggested:
Vassar College
124 Raymond Ave.
Poughkeepsie, NY 12604
St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church
119 Main Street
Millburn, New Jersey 07041
Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan New Jersey
151 Washington Street
Newark, New Jersey 07102
Arrangements by Bradley, Brough & Dangler Funeral Home, Summit.