By Nicole Hamilton
Enquirer staff writer

SPRINGDALE - Deborah Carroll Long consistently showed compassion and concern toward others, as a friend, wife and mother, teacher and guidance counselor.

"She was as close as we can get to unconditional love," said her longtime friend, Sandy Hatcher of Newport Beach, Calif., who met Mrs. Long while in college at Ohio University.

"She was always concerned about others, and always willing to help. Whenever anyone asked her do to something to help, she did it that instant - she just didn't hesitate. She was unselfish. And she was a real lady. Everyone agrees - she was classy."

Mrs. Long died Thursday at Hospice of Cincinnati in Blue Ash after a five-year battle with cancer. The Springdale resident was 58.

Raised in Walnut Hills, she earned a bachelor's degree in education from Ohio University in 1968, where she was a member of Delta Sigma Theta sorority.

"She always loved children and education. She loved the school district and the people she worked with. She was just a beautiful person - she was true one-of-a-kind," said her husband of 17 years, Edward G. Long.

Mrs. Long taught elementary school in Cleveland until the mid-1970s when she moved back to Cincinnati, eventually accepting a position with the Princeton School District.

Mrs. Long earned her master's degree from Xavier University in 1981. She then became a guidance counselor at Princeton High School, a position she held until 1990, when she moved to Washington, D.C.

Six years later, she returned to Cincinnati - and to the Princeton School District - serving as a guidance counselor at Princeton Junior High School until 2002, the year she retired.

Mrs. Long was a member of the Cincinnati chapter of Delta Sigma Theta sorority. She was also a member of Girl Friends Inc. and Women's Alliance.

She served as president of the Women's Union at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church and was an honorary member of its altar guild.

Besides her husband, other survivors include a daughter, Beryle Renee Yasmine Long of Springdale; mother, Susan Carroll of Avondale; and aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews.

Visitation will be from 10:30 a.m. to noon Tuesday at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, Evanston. Service will follow at noon.

Burial will be in Spring Grove Cemetery, Winton Place.

Memorials can be made to St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, 1809 Rutland Ave., Cincinnati 45207-1219, or to the American Cancer Society, 2808 Reading Road, Cincinnati, OH 45206.

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E-mail nhamilton@enquirer.com