Deborah K. Meissner

DEBORAH TRIBUTEDeborah Kay Meissner (age 72) passed away of abdominal cancer at Whitewood Gardens, an assisted living facility in Portland, Oregon, on Thursday, June 2, 2022. A memorial service is planned to be held at Whitewood Gardens at some future date, followed by eventual inurnment at Friona Cemetery in Friona, Texas.As one of her cherished caregivers lamented, "We have lost a precious soul."Debbie was born November 19, 1949, in Wichita Falls, Texas. She was the second child of Joseph Bailey Meissner, Jr. and Billie Joy Pinkney Meissner and sister to her older brother, Joseph Bailey Meissner III. Debbie's life was not an easy path to remarkably becoming the sweetest, most generous, wittiest, and kindest person you ever met. At age 2, she began having severe grand mal seizures, sometimes ending up in the hospital. Her IQ was also affected, and so she made it through only the 5th grade in school. After that, Debbie continued to live with her parents into early adulthood. Deb's seizures continued into her 30s, until more effective medications were eventually developed.Sadly, when Deborah was 26, her mother (age of 49) died of pancreatic cancer, Debbie's father soon remarried. However, the new family arrangement did not work out, and Deborah's father moved her from Wichita Falls to a group home in Houston, Texas, called the Cullen Residence Hall at the Center for the Retarded (later renamed simply "The Center"). Deborah rarely saw her father or adoptive mother after that.Upon moving to The Center, for the first time in her life, Debbie was on her own. After getting over that shock, she somehow found the courage and fortitude to adjust well to her new life. The Center was an innovative new residential and life development complex for developmentally disabled adults. It had a high-rise dormitory for the residents and was like a college campus. Debbie came to love her life at The Center and made close friends, including the love of her life, Harris Krumholtz, her boyfriend of 32 years before his passing in 2010.Debbie's brother, Joe, gained guardianship for his little sister in order to ensure that Debbie would be personally and medically cared for the rest of her life. After Darlene's sister, Donna Doebbler, and her family moved to Houston in the 1990s, they also became a part of Deborah's life, calling her "Aunt", bringing her to their homes for holidays, family celebrations and vacation time, and doing their best to ensure that Deborah felt loved and cherished.As both she and The Center aged, Deb came to need a more personal kind of care. So in 2010, she moved to a smaller group home in Houston, run by Debbie's former social worker at The Center, Stacey Hall. Debbie's new house parent, Miss Birdie, became a like a mom to Debbie, and Deb loved her dearly. Deborah spent many happy times with Miss Birdie's and Stacey's families and the other residents under Stacey's care.At age 72, Deb's health began to decline. Her big brother moved her to Whitewood Gardens in Portland, Oregon, so that they could see each other every day and he could closely monitor her medical care. Deborah spent the last 5 months of her life at Whitewood Gardens in great happiness, making new friends and enjoying bingo, flower arranging, art and many other social activities. People at WWG came to love Deborah as she constantly charmed them with her jokes, compliments and nicknames for her fellow residents and caregivers.Deborah is survived by her brother, Joseph Bailey Meissner III, and wife, C. Darlene Harper (Deborah's co-guardians in Oregon). She is also survived by her nephew, Joseph Bailey Meissner IV and his wife, Helen Krieger of West Hollywood, CA; paternal aunt, Lucy Ann Maier and her husband, Chris Maier, of Ft. Worth, Texas; and four paternal cousins. Deborah was preceded in death by her parents, Billie Joy Meissner and Joseph Bailey Meissner Jr.; and her long-time boyfriend, Harris Krumholz. Deborah was much loved by everyone who had the pleasure to know her, and she will be greatly missed. May she forever rest in peace.

Deborah K. Meissner

November 19, 1949 - June 2, 2022