Debbie Rondem was born a leader.
The retired U.S. Army Reserve colonel spoke with authority, even as a child, her sister said.
"She would tell us what to do and we followed her," said Susan Winkler, of The Woodlands, Texas, with a chuckle. "And we dared not do what she said. She got that from our father, but at the same time, she could be very compassionate like Mom. She really got the best of both of them."
Debra Ann Conrad Rondem, called Debbie by all, of Milton, died Thursday at home from complications associated with pancreatic cancer. She was 60. A funeral is scheduled for 11 a.m. Friday at the Episcopal Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, Marietta. Burial will follow at 1 p.m., with full military honors, at Georgia National Cemetery. Northside Chapel Funeral Directors, Roswell, are in charge of arrangements.
Mrs. Rondem grew up in a military household, said retired Col. Ronnie Rondem, her husband of 28 years. Her father, retired Maj. Gen. A. Harry Conrad, had a major influence on his daughter, Mr. Rondem said.
"She loved her country and I think that is why she went into the military, but [she went] to the reserves so she could also pursue her love of education," he said. "She loved her family, her country and education."
Mrs. Rondem, born in Lafayette, La., and reared in Texas City, Texas, earned a bachelor's degree in physical education from Sam Houston State University in 1973. She also earned a master's in community health from the same school in 1975, the same year she enlisted in the Reserves. She retired from the military in 2007.
Her teaching career began in Texas in the '70s and continued in Georgia. In the early '90s, Mrs. Rondem worked in the Forsyth County schools, where she eventually became director of student support services, before she retired in May 2011.
While Mrs. Rondem worked as a solider and an educator, she was also devoted to her family. And it wasn't just her immediate family that she concerned herself with, her son said.
"She was a second mother to a number of my friends," said Christopher Rondem, of Salt Lake City. "She did have that Colonel-attitude, but she also cared about other people very deeply."
Jannette Rondem, of Humble, Texas, was a pre-teen when she met the woman who would eventually become her step-mother. Mrs. Rondem's approach to life changed the young woman forever, she said. And while Mrs. Rondem's list of educational and military accolades is long, her family most remembers a compassionate woman who wanted to make the world a better place.
"She would do anything for anybody, if she had the opportunity," Ms. Rondem said of her step-mother. "She knew she couldn't change everybody, but if she thought she could have a positive effect on somebody, she'd try."
Mrs. Rondem is also survived by her mother, Joyce Conrad, of The Woodlands, Texas; a second step-daughter, Monika Morton of Lexington, Texas; and three step-grandchildren.
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