Deborah Koons Obituary

Deborah Anne Koons

Born Deborah Anne Glaser on February 8, 1955, in Emporia, Kansas, our Deb bid her final goodbye to the Yellow Brick Road on July 30, 2024.

As a child Deb was once labeled as feral by her sister because she spent so much time away from home on the hunt for inventive mischief and spontaneous adventures with friends. She created several cottage industries that included making no-cook mulberry jam (yep! that would be sugar, tap water and floating fruit in a jar) and later perfectly baked pound cakes which she set out to peddle door to door. The jam proved not to be a big seller, but the cake business was quite successful until her mother ran the numbers and shut the whole thing down after determining that the cost of ingredients well surpassed the sales price.

Having discovered that the world of commerce held scant promise for her future, Deb was delighted to find that she had a remarkable talent for playing the piano. Her sheet music library would come to include hits by all the classical geniuses, favorite contemporary singer songwriters, Broadway musicals and even Dr. Seuss – all of which she mastered with relative ease.

Her daily piano practice sessions became the background music for dinner prep times that filled the house with exotic melodious spices and the very essences of love and joy that otherwise were liable to go missing from her childhood home.

At one point, Deb's mother Mary signed her up for summer band in an attempt to keep her busy and out of trouble. Deb quickly tired of that experiment and realized she had no love for the clarinet. After that, it was simply a matter of talking a friend into skipping class with her and hanging out at the laundromat nearby. There the girls delighted in reading magazines and sampling the various delicacies offered in the vending machines. When Mary ultimately caught on to what was going on, she proclaimed that the jig was up. Deb, however, ended that sorry chapter in her life for good by declaring, "You were the one who always wanted to be in a marching band – not me!"

Deb did attend and graduate from both Emporia High School and the University of Kansas where she majored in General Studies…and partying.

Making friends and having a good time always came naturally for Deb and she and her husband Gaylen spent many happy weekends during their 43 years of marriage together haunting thrift stores, second-hand shops, garage sales and flea markets where they discovered quirky treasures to bring home. They both enjoyed filling their house in Lawrence with collections and oddities that never failed to surprise and engage visitors.

One neighbor aptly noted that Deb was a rambler at heart. She was always up for a road trip or faraway adventure. To that end, Deb was pleased to be able to make one final trip to Wyoming with her sister and her cat Cheyenne in November. When Gaylen's dementia began to emerge in earnest, Deb put her own wanderlust aside and cared for him at home. After more than five years, he ultimately reached a point where he was no longer safe there but she visited him regularly at Bridge Haven until her own health declined to a point where she herself became house-bound.