Debra Lynn Spaulding's Obituary
Debra Lynn Spaulding, beloved mother, grandmother, sister, and friend, passed away peacefully at St. Joseph Hospital in Tacoma, Washington, on March 21, 2025, at the age of 65.
Debbie was born in Renton, Washington, on Jan. 31, 1960, to Walter and Margaret Ames. She was raised in Seattle and graduated from Roosevelt High School in 1978. In the spring of 1975, the new pastor of the family's church asked Debbie to take his son Tim to the high school class. It was love at first sight, and they were married two years later, on July 23, 1977, at Faith Lutheran Church in Seattle by Tim's Dad, Rev. Dr. Kent Spaulding.
Debbie and Tim welcomed their first born, Christopher Kent, and second born, Teresa Jo, before moving to Tacoma in 1984. Rebeca Maureen and Jeffrey Michael were born in the next two years. Debbie was then a busy mom of four young children aged 6 and under. Several years later Debbie opened up her home to Becky's friend, Amanda, when she needed a welcoming place to land.
When the children were young, Debbie ran a licensed in-home daycare to be able to be home with the kids. Time outside of work was spent taking the kids to various parks, trips to the zoo, swim lessons at the YMCA, visits to the library and shuttling kids to the many activities they were involved in. On Sunday mornings, you could always find her in church as she lived out her strong faith.
Following Tim's graduation from college, Debbie started at Tacoma Community College, attending full time even as she continued to operate the day care. She graduated in 1993 with a degree in nursing. She began her career in long-term care centers and then was hired at St. Joseph Hospital in Tacoma working on the medical/surgical recovery floor. After working several years in med/surg, she moved up to the postpartum floor to join her daughter Becky. The two loved working together and getting to give each other report, as Debbie worked days and Becky nights. It got even more fun when Becky became a charge nurse and got to supervise her mom.
In 2018, Debbie was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia. She went through five rounds of chemo and had surgery to remove a large mass in her chest. She was determined that this would not dictate her retirement and returned to work when her cancer was in remission. In 2021, she made the choice to retire.
One main lesson learned through Debbie's cancer scare was that life is short and we need to make the most of the time we have. She lived her life to the fullest and spent as much time as she could with Tim, her kids, her grandkids, and her sister Diane. She loved to crochet, work on puzzles, and gamble at the casino. She loved having the grandkids over or going to places with them. She loved camping, trips to places like Maui, Disneyland, Yellowstone, Banff and spending time at Maggie Lake. She enjoyed service trips to Mexico and Holden Village with her church. She also loved cruising with Tim and had just enjoyed a bucket list cruise through the Panama Canal. She was always ready for an adventure and a little mischief.
Debbie is survived by her husband, Tim, of 47 years, her children, Chris, Teresa (Mike), Becky (Matt), and Jeff (Nicole), bonus daughter Amanda, her grandchildren, Alaina, Aidan, Margaret, Makayla, Grady, August, Charlie, Logan, Lila, Aubrey, Keegan, and Briggs, her brother Doug (Caren), her sister Diane and many aunts, uncles, cousins, and in-laws. She is preceded in death by her parents, her parents-in-law, two sisters-in-law and her granddaughter Alivia.
A memorial celebration will be held at St. Mark's Lutheran Church by The Narrows on Friday, April 11, at 11 a.m. with a luncheon reception to follow. Memorial gifts may be given to St. Mark's for the Mexico service trip.
Debbie will be greatly missed by all who knew and loved her. We can all learn from her life well-lived and remember to treat each day as a gift. Spend as much time as possible with the ones you love doing the things you love and always remember to embrace the chaos.
What’s your fondest memory of Debra?
What’s a lesson you learned from Debra?
Share a story where Debra's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with Debra you’ll never forget.
How did Debra make you smile?