A beautiful soul was called home on Wednesday, July 20, 2022, and Christy found herself wrapped in the gentle arms of the Lord. In her 13-year battle with metastatic breast cancer, Christy’s strength was sustained by her Catholic faith, and supported by the love of her husband William (“Billy”), their family, and friends.
Christina Lyn (deBettencourt) Souza was born on Christmas Day, 1968, and grew up in Quincy and Oak Bluffs. She was a bright, engaging, and happy child, and never ceased to make people happy around her smile. She was educated in the Quincy public schools. After graduating from Smith College in 1990, she continued her education at Harvard University’s department of landscape architecture, where she earned a postgraduate degree in landscape design and site engineering.
Her greatest passion was Billy, who made her too-short life so happy. They were married three times: on July 7, 2001, in South Paris, Maine; in the fall of 2007, sacramentally at St. Patrick’s in New Castle, Maine; and in 2019, they renewed their marital vows as part of a special trip to Cana, Israel.
Christy and Billy lived in Maine, and moved to Orange in late 2011. Christy was largely a self-employed business owner, gardening, landscaping, and farming. Both Lacewings Beneficial Gardening, LLC, and Earthscapes, LLC, in Maine, and Cross Water Farm, LLC, in New Hampshire, are to her credit. She was also giving of herself, volunteering with Meals on Wheels, the Pregnancy Center of the Upper Valley, and High Horses Therapeutic Riding, to name a few wonderful causes.
Christy was an enthusiastic traveler, and had no equal when it came to research and planning. Traveling with family and friends, she could be relied upon to be a knowledgeable tour guide. From 2015 to 2021, she worked down a bucket list of places to visit. Among the many domestic travels, there were two cross-country camping trips, first to Washington State, then Arizona two years later. National and state parks were her focus along the way. Christy and Billy also enjoyed traveling abroad, to Italy, Portugal, Aruba, Spain, Puerto Rico, Jordan, Israel, and Jamaica.
The family is deeply grateful for the professional, compassionate, and life-extending care that sustained Christy in her years of struggle. Support teams in oncology, neurosurgery, and palliative medicine, as well as home hospice care, maintained a focus on the quality of life so important to Christy.
Christy is survived by her husband, Billy Souza, and his loving family; her parents, David deBettencourt of Massachusetts and Sheila (Glas) deBettencourt of North Carolina; her sister, Angie Buxton of Massachusetts, and brother, Danny deBettencourt of North Carolina; stepchildren Bianca Souza of Maine and Vincent Souza of Nevada; three aunts, Deborah Ratcliff, Katherine Tiernan, and Judy Powell); and her nieces, Aquinnah and Azalea. Christy leaves behind her beloved friends Jessica, Molly, and Katie from Smith, Robin, Kim, and Deb from the Upper Valley, and Lillian from M.V.
Family and friends are invited to Christy’s calling hours at Ricker Funeral Home, 56 School St., Lebanon, N.H., on Sunday, July 31, from 4 to 6 pm. A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated at 11 am at Sacred Heart in Lebanon on Monday, August 1. A reception to celebrate Christy’s life will be held at Cross Water Farm, 137 Cross Road, Orange, N.H., beginning at 2 pm. Burial will be held privately in Enfield.
In lieu of flowers, donations in Christy’s name can be made to the Pregnancy Center of the Upper Valley, 1 Main St., Suite 2, West Lebanon, NH 03784.
To leave a message of condolence for Christy’s family, visit the online guestbook at rickerfuneralhome.com.