MOULTRIE, Ga. —  A call as a deputy coroner several years ago changed the direction of Debra Howard’s life.

Born in Mitchell County, Howard grew up in Hartsfield and Moultrie and graduated from Colquitt County High School. She worked as a hairdresser, then became a certified EMT. She was training to be a paramedic when she accepted the deputy coroner’s job, where she worked under Willie J. Williams and Rodney Bryant.

On this particular occasion she was called to the Upper Meigs Road. An elderly man had clearly been dead for days. Beside him sat his son, a man in his late 50s or early 60s. 

The son had a developmental disability. He could understand words spoken to him, Howard said, but he didn’t have the language to respond. Howard got the EMTs to check him out; he was found to be severely dehydrated and, from her assessment of the scene, he apparently hadn’t eaten for days — even though there was food and water in the house.

Howard related that story to tell how her interest moved from emergency medicine to social services. She wanted to teach life skills — how to make a sandwich, how to call 911 in an emergency — to the developmentally disabled.

It took years, but that incident sparked what is now LOL — Life of Liberty — Adult Day Care.

Howard and her husband, Keith Howard, relocated to California in 2000. However, they did not sell their home in Moultrie because they intended to make yearly visits to her mother. Sadly, her mother’s death in 2012 brought those visits to an end. Howard said she rarely had a true desire to visit after her mother’s death — it wasn’t until 2019 when Howard would visit more frequently to run the second location of the LOL — Life of Liberty — Adult Day Program. 

Although the initial launch of the LOL — Life of Liberty Adult day program was in Oceanside, California, in 2008, Howard had attained at least three years of prior experience in the field of social work, and a bachelor’s and master’s degree in criminal justice. After several years of running the Oceanside location, Howard sought to expand her program to Georgia.

Howard stated that Savannah was her ideal placement for the second Life of Liberty location. This area did not work, however, and her broker found the building they would need in Moultrie. While it wasn’t the first choice, Howard decided that Moultrie was the place for the second location — the place of her roots and family. 

With a heart for helping adults with developmental disabilities live a life of independence and fullness, Howard modeled the LOL-Life of Liberty Adult Day Program to be one that aimed to teach these adults essential life skills they would need. 

The program exposes its participants to the community and teaches them through different activities and classes they can participate in during the day. Furthermore, the program is tailored to each participant so that each person is learning about things in which they have interest, according to Howard in a video on the LOL — Life of Liberty — Adult Day Program’s website.

Howard attributes much of her success in California to her successes and failures in Moultrie and recalled experiences she had while living in Moultrie that changed the course of her life. Howard treasures these experiences she had in Moultrie and thanks God for orchestrating and leading her life. 

Howard recalls one experience in particular. She had an encouraging conversation with Randy Kelley, a local banker who had walked into her then-failing business. 

One day, Kelley visited the business, which was located here in Moultrie. He told Howard he admired her tenacity and that she should never quit trying — one day she would succeed. Howard recalled other advice he gave her and how she held on to that advice. She said she entered her future endeavors with a greater knowledge and understanding of how she should conduct her businesses, and wished Kelley could see her current portfolio. 

Howard currently owns four properties in Colquitt County and is in joint ownership of a property in California. She mentions in her profile that she is proud to be contributing to the growth of Moultrie through purchasing real estate, providing jobs, and providing quality services to individuals with developmental disabilities.  

 While Howard did explain that there are some things you must simply leave home to find, she holds that despite her living in California as long as she has in Moultrie, her roots will always be in the South. 

Howard hopes her story will help many people understand that there is nothing wrong with being from a small town. She said she may live in a large city, but she’s still a Southern girl.