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Beverly Malone Debaecke Born: Lansing, Michigan; eight years, Ivory coast; two years, Morocco; eleven years, France Brick Section D - Row 23
Born July 10th, 1951 in Lansing, Michigan. Two themes have run through the life of Beverly : communication (language) and new horizons (travel). When a child she enjoyed words through writing and learning Spanish and French in pilot programs. In high school she was editor of the school yearbook and majored in French and English in education at the University of Iowa. Learning about different ways of life came through summer travels in the States, with summer jobs on the east and west coasts and in the Rockies. Her junior year she was fortunate to go to the Sorbonne in France and experience different mentalities and interests. After college she joined the Peace Corps and was a volunteer for two years in the Ivory Coast, teaching English in an Ivorian high school. The contact with this new continent was amazing and she learned to adapt to totally different customs and tastes. In a country of 60 different ethnic groups and languages the need for tolerance and a sharing of common interests and language were high. While there she met Albert Debaecke, a French teacher who had widely traveled and shared her interests. They married in Ames in 1976 and went to Morocco to teach in a Moroccan high school. Life in the Plaine du Gharb was colorful and living in a Moslem world called for many adaptations. They returned for another 8 years to the Ivory Coast where two girls were born and further classes taught. In 1983 they moved on to the north of France where their third daughter was born and a motorcycle magazine, Chroniques Moto, was created. Albert became editor and the art of communication became a daily adventure that was shared by thousands of readers world-wide. Beverly was its secretary for three years and learned much about the written word and the world of the press. In teaching English to French primary and middle school children in France she has found an outlet for her love of language. It is interesting to share a language with others: to open linguistic doors that they may later open to communicate with their European neighbors. Trips to England with the students develop the ideas of common interests and tolerance for differences. Her contribution to life will have been one of understanding others through the use of language. Without a strong family tie to back her, traveling and adapting to new cultures would have been difficult. She has been lucky to have had family support for her activities and though has sometimes been far away, they have always been present. Albert and Beverly have three daughters: Adele, Alice, and Angela 12/29/94
Narrative Updated: 3/1/1995
Honored By:	William A. Malone