Deborah Fredene Mosby's Obituary
Deborah Fredene Mosby
July 23, 1950-August 1, 2022
Deborah Fredene Mosby was born in Houston, Texas, to Cleophas Mosby and Valma Elise Stein Mosby, on July 23, 1950. She, her parents, and siblings, Sharon Bernadette Mosby, and Reginald Rolando Mosby, relocated to San Diego, California in the summer of 1955.
She attended Sherman Elementary School until June of 1960. The family moved to Pacific Beach, CA in 1960, where she attended Martha Farnum Elementary School. The Mosby children loved going to the beach every day, which was only 1 ½ blocks from where they lived. Many times, they broke the rules and went when they were not supposed to go. The shiny remnants of fine sand left on their feet and flipflops were tell-tale signs their mother never missed no matter how hard they swept and mopped the floors in their apartment.
The family moved to Southeast San Diego in 1962, where Deborah finished at Chollas Elementary School. She attended Gompers Junior High School, and after her promotion from Gompers, she attended Lincoln High School where she graduated in 1968. She was very involved in high school activities and was a varsity cheerleader for 2 years.
Deborah decided she did not want to continue her academic education after high school, as she preferred to immediately enter the workforce. While she looked for employment, she had responsibility for the newest edition to the family, her nephew Dennis Sean Ellis, while his mother, Sharon B. Mosby (Ellis, Majors, Majors-Lewis) worked. She welcomed the responsibility. It was the foundation of a bond between Deborah and Dennis that was unbreakable, strong, and loving until the end of her days in this world.
Deborah first found employment working in the office of a Black dentist in San Diego, CA, for a short time, then at her father’s business, Plaza Car Wash, in National City, CA. She was a cashier, and handled accounting matters for the business.
Thereafter, she took what she learned and began working in accounting at National Steel and Shipbuilding Company (NASSCO) for many years. She left NASSCO to start a career in the airline industry in 1985, with Pacific Southwest Airlines. PSA was acquired by US Air in 1988 and Deborah joined US Air through the acquisition. Deborah moved to Los Angeles, CA, to further her career and remained there for the rest of her life. It was exciting for her to be around diverse groups of people, to go to musicals and plays, and to steep herself in the culture of her motherland, Africa.
Deborah began working with Qantas Airlines, on February 1, 1995, as a Customer Relations Officer. She was promoted to Airport Duty Manager at LAX in 2001, where she remained until her retirement on February 5, 2014. She received numerous commendations throughout the years for her dedication to customer service. One of her most enjoyable tasks was to meet and ensure that celebrities and other famous individuals were provided the best service possible. Nevertheless, she loved meeting people of all walks of life and did her best to ensure that all of those flying on Qantas were happy with their services.
The move to the airline industry had a profound effect on Deborah’s life, as she was able to fly for free or at greatly reduced rates, which allowed her to travel extensively. One of her childhood friends, Saundra Stewart Tyler, had worked similarly as a flight attendant for many years and regaled Deborah of all of the places she loved to visit. Deborah sought out to see all of those places and many more, determined to visit all seven continents, notwithstanding the fact she had a fear of flying. Some of her favorite places were Australia, Europe, especially Italy, Israel, Jamaica, and several places in Africa. She had Dutch clogs from the Netherlands, jewelry from Jerusalem, art pieces from Australia. She completed her goal of walking on every continent, when she visited Antarctica in 2015. Although she was nervous about the trip, she was excited to go to Tierra del Fuego in Argentina, to embark on the luxury cruise liner that would traverse Drake’s Passage to take her to the frozen continent. She quelled all her fears and made the journey through that last stage of the trip, which is considered the most treacherous sea-passage in the world.
Deborah loved her friends and family. She had an extraordinary interest in her familial history and did extensive research about her ancestry. She was her family’s self-proclaimed griot and she accumulated valuable genealogical, information about the Mosby and Stein families going back to the 1800’s for both lineages, tracing their history all the way back to Africa.
Deborah loved living in her condo in Inglewood, CA. She lived close to Randy’s Donuts, The Forum, and Hollywood Park horse-racetrack, a place she loved to go to with her father, Cleophas, a horse racing fan for many years. She lived near the new SoFi Stadium. She knew the mayor and many people in the community. She loved to do African dancing at a nearby venue, having been a professional dancer herself in her younger days. She loved walking in her neighborhood where she was often greeted by many who lived in the community. She was an upbeat, outgoing, friendly person who embraced life.
As recently as April 2022, she was dancing and entertaining her family with her fun loving, bubbly, outgoing personality. Soon thereafter, however, she was taken to the hospital with symptoms of a stroke, which was confirmed by an MRI. Unfortunately, the tests revealed that she had also been suffering from cancer for many years, seemingly unaware. The source of the cancer was never determined, but the unknown condition had been ravaging her body and mind for many years. She will be loved and missed very much in the days and years ahead, not only by her family, but by her dear friend, Tammy Quinones, former co-worker and dear friend Kirk Demers, and her longtime companion.
Deborah was predeceased by her parents and brother. She is survived by her sister, Sharon B. Majors-Lewis and her sons, their wives, and their children: Dennis Sean Ellis (Ashleigh Thai Ellis, Townsend Cleophas Ellis); Devin Gabriel Majors (Sheneka Oaks Majors, Tyshun Levias Oaks, Tyrah Lanae Majors, Devin Gabriel Majors, Jr., Victoria Marie Majors. Her nephew, Reginald Ryan Mosby. Her Aunt, Lajoie Stein Bradley; her cousins, Marva Bradley Peters, (Vernon), Alan Kevin Stein ( LaTerria), Audra Moseby Bell, Lois Mosbey Bell, Kenneth Dale Mosby, Mildred Moseby Bolden, George Henry Mosbey, Elmer Mosbey, Jr., Preston Mosbey, Jr., Dorothy Jean Moseby David, JoAnn Mosbey. She will be missed my her many of her high school and church friends, and longtime Qantas Airlines friends
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