Debra Jeanne Wash

Debra Wash ObituaryObituary published on Legacy.com by Hamlin & Hilbish Funeral Directors on Mar. 16, 2026.Debra Jeanne Wash, 72, of Covington, KY, passed away peacefully at the hospital in Tavares, FL. She was born May 21,1953, in Cincinnati to her late parents Gene and Maxine Wash. Besides her parents, she is preceded in death by her brother, Mark (Mary J.). She is survived by her brother, Raymond (Maureen), sister, Janis Vater (Tom), brother, Daryl, and brother, Steve (Patricia). She is also survived by five nephews, three nieces, four great nephews, five great nieces, and one great-great-niece.Debra began her working career at Northern Kentucky University before becoming a budget analyst at the budget department of the Administrative Office of the Courts for the Commonwealth of Kentucky for 29 years.Foremost she was a loving sister, aunt, and cousin as well as a cherished friend to many. Debra enjoyed watching sports, cooking, her Happy Hour, entertaining, local food festivals, and planning family vacations. These included attending the University of Kentucky Wildcat SEC tournament games, observing the Chinese Pandas munching on their bamboo shoots at the Atlanta Zoo, supervising nieces and nephews constructing sandcastles on sunny beaches, encouraging horseback riding in the Land Between the Lakes for the adventurous members of the family, and unforgettable sister trips.Besides family vacations, unique itineraries included a weekend stay at a Frank Lloyd Wright home, picking coffee beans at a coffee plantation in Costa Rica, a multi-modal trip in France to smell the roses of Monet's Gardens in Giverny and reflect on the somberness of the beaches of Normandy. She and companions also witnessed authentic flamenco dancing in Spain and restfully scratched sleeping in a yurt off their bucket lists.Her friends and family will remember her as the architect of so many unique activities. The millennium had them going from one family dwelling to another in vans they decorated as cruise ships to have pictures with the captain, smack pinatas and try their hand at skeet shooting before arriving at her farmhouse in Frankfort to see what the stroke of midnight would bring. The nieces and nephews will especially remember her Derby Day and holiday get-togethers. She always had fun activities for them. Her Fireworks Friday festivities with food, drink, and dessert on the deck while viewing the dazzling display of pyrotechnics became a regular event for the lucky ones on her invite list. Her enjoyment of company and her flair for entertaining touched so many friends and family members; she will certainly be missed by all that knew her.To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.