Deborah Young Hickman, 65, a loving mother and grandmother, took her first breath in heaven on Jan. 22, 2023. She will be cremated with her ashes spread over the Smoky Mountains at her request.
A memorial service was held at 1 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 28, at the Unity Baptist Church 2475 Highway 22a N, Jacks Creek TN, 38347 where flowers are welcome to be sent to. Joseph B. Paul Jr. Funeral Service is honored to be assisting the Hickman family.
She was born on April 14, 1957 to the late Jimmy Neal Young and Edith Cardell Young in Henderson. It was there that she spent most of her life before moving to North Carolina to remain close to her beloved daughter and two grandchildren.
She had a big heart for Jesus and charity, often giving to those in need. She spent nine years working for the Teen Challenge Women’s Recovery Center. It was there that she mentored and counseled women through drug and alcohol recovery; she even ran her own center in Knoxville for many years.
Other than helping people in need, she also enjoyed lighthouses, reading, her dog Noah and Tennessee orange, and she never went anywhere without buying a t-shirt. But most of all, she loved her grandchildren.
She is survived by her two daughters, Haley Faye (Alex) Cutler and Nici Corell (Mike) Ward; her beloved grandchildren, Savannah Rayne Cutler, Preston Cutler, Austin Young, Tres’ Ward and Hayden Ward; her stepmother, Madga Young; and three stepsisters, Lori Q. Thomas, Beth Cox and Tiffany Elder.
She was preceded in death by her parents; her daughter, Hannah Dee Hickman; and her three brothers, Chris Young, Don Young, and Alan Young.
