Deborah Bliese Memorial Law Enforcement Endowed Scholarship

Debbie Bliese was raised in a law enforcement family. Her father, George Hilton, retired from the Harris County Sheriffs Department as a sergeant and her mother, Jean Hilton, was a secretary with the Houston Police Department. She had a career with the Harris County Sherriff’s office. Debbie’s career was cut short with the diagnosis of breast cancer in 1995 and a double mastectomy. The cancer returned in 2006 and again she fought if off with chemo and radiation. In 2009 she was diagnosed with small cell lung cancer and given 6 weeks to live. She fought to the end and cheated death for an additional 2 weeks and passed away on October 26, 2009. Debbie’s sister and brother in-law were both graduates of Sam Houston State with her sister Diane becoming a school teacher and Gary joining the Houston Police Department where he retired as a sergeant. Russell Bliese joined the Houston Police Department in 1975 at the age of 19. He attended Sam Houston State for two years and could not wait to be a “COP”. He never went back to school to finish his degree and that is one of his biggest regrets in life. Russell emphasizes the importance of obtaining an education. Not only are you paid less for not having a degree, your chances for advancement diminish significantly. Most agencies do not even hire you without a degree and all the Federal agencies require a degree. Hopefully with the assistance of this scholarship a bright young man or woman will be able to obtain their dream and work in the criminal justice field as Debbie and Russell have done.