Deborah Lee Brooks Fifer, 57, died June 3, 2008, at her home in Fairbanks, Alaska, with her beloved companion, James Helgeson, at her side.
Her graveside memorial service will be at 2 p.m. Saturday at Eagle Valley Cemetery in Richland. Friends are invited to join the family for a reception afterward at the Eagle Valley Grange.
Debbie was born on Feb. 18, 1951, at Baker City to Dwight and Lorraine Brooks. She attended grade school in Union and was a 1969 La Grande High School graduate.
Debbie then graduated from Western Business University at Portland where she met and married Gary Fifer of Portland. Gary and Debbie had two daughters, Gina and Rhonda.
In 1984, Debbie and her daughters moved to Fairbanks where Debbie was employed by Hub Foods, owned by Gavora Inc.
She and her longtime companion, Jim Helgeson, enjoyed traveling in their motor home to Homer for clam digging and to Quartz Lake for fishing.
She also enjoyed working in her garden and spending time with her grandchildren. Debbie had knitted baby blankets for each grandchild.
Debbie was an avid bowler and won many trophies. She was a member of Eagles Auxiliary 1037 where she and Jim enjoyed many Friday evening dinners.
Survivors include her daughters and son-in-law, Gina and Tony Brickley, and their son, Camron, of Fairbanks and Rhonda Fifer and her son, Corbin, of Vancouver, Wash.; father and stepmother, Dwight and Donna Brooks of Union; mother and stepfather, Lorraine and Don Lind of Welches; brothers, Larry Brooks, of Homer, La., Dalton Brooks of Vancouver, Wash., and Scott Westenskow, of West Linn; stepsisters, Tonya, Sharon and Becky; stepbrothers, Bart, Chris and Jeff; companion, Jim Helgeson, and his two sons, one daughter and their children; and numerous aunts, uncles and cousins.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Eagle Valley Grange through Tami’s Pine Valley Funeral Home, P.O. Box 543, Halfway, OR 97834.
Used with permission from: Baker City Herald, Baker City, Oregon, June 16, 2008
Transcribed by: Belva Ticknor
