Debra Lynn Soignier Raiford

A service for Debra Lynn Soignier Raiford will be held at 2:00 P.M. on Saturday, July 30th, 2022, at Mulhearn Funeral Home in West Monroe, LA, with Deacon Scott Brandle officiating. Visitation will be from 1:00 P.M. until service time on Saturday at the funeral home.

Debbie was born on Thursday, July 3, 1952 and passed away on Wednesday, July 27, 2022, from Parkinson’s.

Debbie was baptized at St Matthew Catholic Church in Monroe, Louisiana on Sunday, July 27, 1952, exactly 70 years before entering eternal rest. She grew up on the family farm (R&B Farm) in Bosco Louisiana. Debbie attended Logtown Elementary and Junior High School and graduated from Ouachita Parish High School in 1970.

She married Charles E Raiford, II on April 24, 1976. They, along with their son Joshua who was born in 1979, would go on to live in Norfolk, Virginia, Honolulu, Hawaii, Woodbine, Georgia, and St Simons Island, Georgia before moving to West Monroe, Louisiana in 2013 Debbie retired from the Federal government with her final work being as a US Customs and Border Patrol Budget Officer with the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Brunswick, Georgia.

Debbie was active in the Catholic communities of St. William Catholic Church on St Simons Island, Georgia, and of St. Paschal Catholic Church in West Monroe. She also worked as a nursery volunteer at Glenwood Regional Medical Center.

Debbie was welcomed to eternal life by her parents, Elizabeth “Betty” Pittman and Ray John Soignier; cousins Elton Purvis, Ellen Soignier Stapleton, Clifton “Buddy” Lee Jr., and Karen Drummond; sister-in-law Joann Raiford Thompson, aunts Sadie Soignier Purvis (Dickie), who were also Debbie’s Godparents, Kathryn Claire Pittman Lee (Clifton) and Gracie Pittman Drummond (Ron); uncles Claude Paul Soignier (Grace), John Chester Soignier (Nellie), Bobby Bryan, and James Grayson “Butch” Pittman, Jr.

Debbie is survived by her husband, Charlie; their son Joshua Benjamin Raiford (Heather), and their child Emerson “Remy”, and step grandchild Ellery Rose Winchell, whom she considered a granddaughter, all of Vestal, New York; her stepson, Charles E “Trey” Raiford, III, who she considered as a son (Carrie) and their children Audrey and Ava, all of Prairieville Louisiana; her sisters, Pamela Jean Soignier Pursnell (Allan); Marsha Ann Soignier Roberts (Mike); a brother, David Ray Soignier (Amy); a niece, Laura Elizabeth Pursnell Lindsay (Ned); nephews, Justin Allan Pursnell, Michael Christopher Roberts, Matthew David Roberts, Reagan David Soignier, Jacob David Soignier, Michael Thompson, Cris Thompson(Sarah), Jeffery Thompson (Kiah), brother-in-law, Mike Thompson (Christine), aunts Juanita Soignier Bryan and Jan Pittman Sears (Ron), and twenty-two cousins and their families.

The family thanks the care given to Debbie at the West Monroe Guest House, her hospice provider Ruth of Elara Hospice Care, and her sister Marsha and cousin Janice Segars for their daily visits and care. Marsha was with Debbie at the time of her passing.

Memorials can be made to St. Pascal Catholic Church, 711 North 7th Street, West Monroe, Louisiana 71291 or St. William Catholic Church, 2300 Frederica Road, St. Simons Island, Georgia 31522.