Obituary - Debra Kay Ruland
October 31, 2011
Debra Kay (Debi) Ruland passed away Oct. 28, 2010 at Dixie Regional Medical Center in St. George, Utah. Debi lost a battle against a rare and aggressive auto immune disease, which she’d dealt with for many years. She was 58.
Debi was born in Jackson Hole, WY October 8, 1953 to Jim and Roberta King of Pinedale. Her childhood was spent on King Ranch in Boulder, WY where, as an only child, she filled her days playing and swimming with her many cousins and friends from neighboring ranches.
Debi went to elementary school in the old Boulder schoolhouse and finished her high school education at Pinedale high School where she graduated in 1972.
Following high school, Debi met Hank Ruland, whom she would marry in 1972. The couple moved to San Francisco, CA but quickly to returned home where Hank went into law enforcement and Debi worked at the library. She would later serve as deputy clerk of the district court in Pinedale and later worked as a legal secretary for Mason & Mason Law Offices for many years.
Debi was a hobby enthusiast from a very young age. She read books at a fever pace, collected stamps, knitted quilts, assembled puzzles and researched family ancestry with passion. After Hank and Debi retired in 2005, her primary hobby became traveling across the United States with her husband and living in RV parks, making friends and continuing her many other hobbies. Hank will recall that Debi was the primary co-pilot on their RV adventures and loved taking photos which she shared with family and friends.
Debi is survived by her mother Roberta King, husband Hank, daughter Michelle Lee Ruland and son Tim Ruland and his wife Myndi (all of Pinedale). She is also survived by two grandchildren, Logan Nixon and Deanna Balue both of Pinedale. Debi was preceded in death by her father James H. King of Boulder.
A memorial service will be held on Saturday, Nov. 5 at 2:30 pm in the Sublette County Library Lovatt Room. A luncheon will immediately follow at Stockman’s Restaurant.
|
