She was born in Cleveland, Ohio. She was a summa cum laude graduate of Baldwin Wallace College, and held a master’s degree in education from Tusculum College. She taught elementary school before becoming an attorney.
She graduated first in her class in 2001 from the University of Tennessee School of Law. She was a member of the Law Review, and was nationally published.
After passing the bar in both Georgia and Tennessee, she became a professor of law at John Marshall Law School in Atlanta. She served as a prosecutor for the office of the Gwinnett County Solicitor General before opening her own criminal defense law practice.
She was a devout Christian, and believed her law practice served as her ministry. During her life of teaching school and practicing law, many children and adults came to know the love of Jesus Christ through the life of Deborah Hyden.
She was preceded in death by her father, Raymond Hyden.
Survivors include her mother, Dorothy Hyden of Duluth, Ga.; sister, Julianne Thompson; brother-in-law, Jason Thompson; niece, Victoria Thompson; and nephew, Hayden Thompson, all of Suwanee, Ga.; brother, Robert; and sister-in-law, Teresa, of Marietta, Ga.; nephew, Greg Hyden, of Boca Raton, Fla.; and nephew, Marc Hyden, of Panama City Beach, Fla.
The funeral was held Friday, Aug. 3, 2012, at Wages and Sons Funeral Home, 1031 Lawrenceville Highway, Lawrenceville, Ga.
Online condolences may be expressed at www.wagesandsons.com.
