- Date Of Birth: October 13, 1953
- Date Of Death: May 8, 2021
- State: Arizona
Deborah Lynn Lukehart, aka Debbie, aka “DebL”, gave the last middle finger she had to give to the cancer she had fought so hard and for so long on Saturday May 8, 2021. She left largely on her own terms in her home in Page, Arizona at the age of 67, surrounded by loving family and friends. Debbie was born in Council Bluffs, Iowa on October 13, 1953 to David and Mary Louise Jeffres, aka “Kitty”. She proceeded to kick butt and break hearts across the United States until finally settling down in Kayenta, Arizona and starting a family with her husband Linden Lukehart. From this union sprang three miscreant children, David, Jonathan, and Nathan. Family and especially her children were important to Debbie, and she spent countless hours reading to, doting on, cooking for, breaking up fights, and instilling in them a love for all the myriad mysteries that life holds.
Debbie had an insatiable curiosity and thirst for knowledge and exploration of the world. She had many passions and interests, including geology, the written word, drawing, the outdoors, and psychology, just to name a few. She spoke both French and Spanish to varying degrees. She was a master of Scrabble and trivia games, but you never felt bad losing to her, which you were almost always guaranteed to do. In her adventures outdoors, she could be found scouring the deserts of northern Arizona and southern Utah for sharks teeth, fossils, and arrowheads, all while pointing out the composition of the land and mountains around her.
She also had a great talent and passion for the culinary arts, both at home and in her professional life. Her beef stroganoff, tuna fish salad, and fudge had no equal. Her chicken and dumplings were simply otherworldly. If you stop by Mulligan’s at the golf course, there is a sandwich named after her, featuring her signature chicken salad recipe. In her role as foodservice cashier at Desert View Elementary school, she conceived of and implemented a manners and etiquette class for students, some of whom were unaware of how to use utensils at the time. For this program she received the ASFSA’s Louise Sublette Award of Excellence (West region). But for her the real reward was helping the children that passed through her line every day, and it wasn’t an uncommon occurrence for her to reach into her own pocket rather than see a child go without eating breakfast.
Debbie was predeceased by her husband Linden Lukehart, her partner later in life Jim Davis, her son Jonathan Lukehart, and her stepbrother Burke Brown. She is survived by her sister Cynthia Harris, and her sons David and his wife Julie, and Nathan and his wife Alisha. Her far flung stepbrothers Chet, Brad, and Boe Brown are still purveying their own brands of mischief. She was the proud and loving grandmother to Marty, Delilah, Abigail(Foresman), Lauren, Aaron, Xander, Liberty, Lexus, and McKenzie(Castor) Lukehart. Fear not, all of those named above will make it their mission to carry on Debbie’s legacy of stubbornness and speaking their minds.
