Deborah Jane (Culler) Keith

June 24, 1950 - October 23, 2017

Deborah Jane (Culler) Keith Obituary (Age 67) A memorial service is scheduled for Deborah Jane Culler Keith who passed unexpectedly on October 23, 2017, at the age of 67. Friends and family are invited to attend her memorial at 11:00 AM, Sunday, June 24, 2018, at Debby's home at 5515 W. 5th, Spokane, 99224. She was born June 24, 1950 in Spokane, Washington to Miriam Huntsinger and John Rutledge Culler and grew up the second of four sisters. A highlight of her childhood was summers spent swimming and water skiing at the family cabin on Priest Lake. She graduated from Lewis and Clark High School and Central Washington University with a major in Home Economics and a minor in Art. After college, she pursued a unique path working at Kaiser Aluminum in a male dominated position handling and testing aluminum. Sidelined by a hip injury she pursued additional education in health information. Her youthful leisure activities included traveling in Europe, backpacking, skiing and climbing in the Pacific Northwest. Debby inherited an artistic soul and over the years enjoyed photography, painting and creating pottery. Debby was a long-time member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, serving as vice regent of the Garry Chapter at the time of her death. She was also an ardent conservationist and bird watcher. She single-handedly stopped the construction of a parking lot in the bog wetland area located at Sunset and Grove Road in Spokane. Debby had a quirky sense of humor and an appreciation for the natural world. A summer memory of her and 80-something Eddie Brooks twirling across the beach in inner tube tutus as part of the family Priest Lake circus-themed birthday party lifts our spirits. In the mid-1980s Debby met her soul mate and love of her life, William Edward "Bill" Keith, marrying August 27, 1994. They enjoyed summers together at the Culler family cabin at Priest Lake. They were intrepid boaters, taking their 26' Wellcraft to Desolation Sound as well as to various lakes with son and daughter-in-law Brady and Teresa Keith. They visited may countries from Raratonga in the Cook Islands to their favorite, South Africa. Debby and Bill also had a love affair with their golden retrievers Bart, Penny, Charlie and Chester. Bill's passing earlier last year devastated Debby, leading her to end her life to escape the heartbreaking pain. Debby was preceded in death by her parents, John and Miriam Culler, and her beloved husband Bill. She is survived by her step-son Brady Keith (Teresa); granddaughters Leta Keith and Tiana Martin; her sisters Mary Ann (Gary) Gibson, Christine (Bill) Brooks, Susan (Brad) Scheelke; nieces Heather and Laura Brooks, Miriam Scheelke; nephews Elliot, Nathaniel, Peter and Jonathan Scheelke; her sister-in-law Julie Nichols (John) and their children John Nichols and Makenzie Harvey. She leaves behind many heartbroken friends who did much to encourage her after Bill's death. Her family gratefully thanks them for their compassionate friendship and heartfelt efforts to ease her way. Memorial gifts may be made in memory of Debby to the American Foundation For Suicide Prevention, afsp.org.