Deborah Ann (Ray) Curtis

Deborah Ann Curtis, 73, of Rochester, MN (formerly of Walker, MN) was called home to the Lord on September 27th, 2022.

Deborah Ann (Ray) Curtis was born June 8th, 1949 in a little country hospital in Avon, Illinois to Kenneth E and Melba I (Lee) Ray, of Bushnell, Illinois.  Debbie, as she liked to be called (Deborah meant she was “in trouble”) grew up as a young girl in Bushnell prior to moving with her family to a farm east of Bushnell where her love of animals expanded to include horses, sheep, dogs, cats, birds, and any other orphan “critters” she found.  After high school, Debbie started vocational education in the hopes of a career in either the medical or veterinarian fields.  However, that was short-lived, as she met her soon-to-be husband, Terry.  They had their first date on May 7th, 1970, were engaged on July 11th, and married on November 15th of the same year.

Debbie and Terry’s first home was within the Bushnell city limits, but they soon moved to a small acreage in Good Hope where Debbie kept a large garden from which she canned seasonally, while working full-time, and raising their two children, Joshua and Jennifer.  This home was 1 mile west of Deb and Terry’s childhood best friends, Vern and Linda Haffner, along with their two children Gretchen and Ben.  Both sets of parents were godparents to the other’s children.

In 1984, the family moved to Walker, MN, as Terry had taken a job there and Debbie was hired at the Cass County Courthouse.  Following a 6-month probationary period, she transferred to the Cass County Highway Department where she kept books and did the dept. payroll for 25 years.  Debbie and Terry served on the Walker Volunteer Ambulance Service faithfully for 10 years during their residency in Walker.

In 2007, Terry took a transfer of jobs which prompted a move to Rochester, MN where Debbie and Terry have resided for the past 15 years; but Walker, as Debbie would say “always felt like home.”

Debbie loved to fish, and she usually out-fished everyone, including Terry, using nothing but a Lindy rig and a minnow, while he was usually trying to find “the magic bait.”  Debbie enjoyed sewing, gardening, quilting, canning, and taking care of any “critters” that happened to be in either the house (pets) or the yard even into her last days with us.

Debbie is survived by her husband of 52 years, Terry T. Curtis, her son Joshua A. Curtis of Park Rapids, MN, her daughter Jennifer R. Curtis of Rochester, MN, her grand-daughter Addison K. Massoglia of Rochester, MN, her mother Melba I. Ray of Rochester, MN, her brother Richard Ray of Burlington, IA, her sister Dianne (and David) Zill of Tucson, AZ, her sister Dawn Ray of Little St. Simons Island, GA, along with 15 nieces and nephews, and numerous great-nieces and -nephews.

Debbie was preceded in death by her father Kenneth, her grand-parents Jim and Lula Ray, her grand-parents Willis and Blanche Lee, her brother Richard’s wife Mary, her beloved nieces Kelly Jo Ray and Amy Lewis (Curtis), and her best friend Linda Haffner.

Funeral services for Debbie will be held on Wednesday, October 5th, 2022, at 1:30 p.m. at the Calvary Evangelical Free Church in Walker, MN; with a one-hour visitation beginning at 12:30 p.m.  Pastor John Dainsberg will officiate.  Helping to lay Debbie to rest are Joshua Curtis, Matthew Haas, Jamie Carlson, Kevin Carlson, Matthew Jontry, and Larry Day.  Interment will be in the Evergreen Cemetery at Walker, MN immediately following her services.  In lieu of flowers, memorial preferred to St. Jude’s Children Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105 or Samaritan’s Purse, PO Box 3000, Boone, NC 28607.

Debbie’s care has been entrusted to Northern Peace Funeral Home of Walker, MN.  Online condolences for the family may be left at www.northernpeace.com

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