Deborah S. James

On February 28, 2019 Deborah Sue James (maiden name Figg), loving wife and mother of two children, died at the age of 66. Deb was born on December 20, 1952 in Denton, Texas, to Wayne and Bessie Figg. After her father's death in 1957, Deb, her mother, and her three siblings moved to Delaware, Ohio. It was there she met the love of her life Walter James. They were married on November 27, 1970 while Walt was home on leave from the Army. Deb dropped out of high school her senior to get married and moved to Germany to be with Walt. Everyone said their marriage wouldn't last because they married so young and were so far away from home. Deb always said their marriage lasted because if they got into a disagreement, they had to work out their differences, since they were too far away from home to run away from each other. While in Germany, she had their first child, Carrie James. Eventually the Army took them to Ft. Riley, Kansas, where their son Timothy James was born, and from there to Manhattan. Deb worked for the Master Teacher and Farm Bureau, and at the age of 44 she enrolled at Kansas State University where she was accepted into the Landscape Architecture Program. She completed the program in fiver years, spending most of her nights studying and working on class projects. She was affectionately known as "Mom" to many of her classmates. She was on the Dean's List, was a member of the Golden Key International Honour Society, and in 1999 she proudly walked across the stage with the biggest smile on her face to receive her diploma in Landscape Architecture. Within a month of graduating, Deb accepted a job in Denver, Colorado with the PKM Design Group. She worked on projects for the City of Denver and the State of Colorado, as well as businesses and individuals in the Denver area. She loved being a landscape architect, and was devastated when the first signs of Alzheimer's Disease started and she was no longer able to work. Deb was determined hat her diagnosis would not keep her from helping others, and she participated in no fewer than five studies at the University of Kansas Medical Center aimed at finding a cure for Alzheimer's Disease. Deb has been described by those who knew her as one of the kindest, most generous people they've ever met. She never had a bad word to asy about anyone and was a firm believer in, "if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all." This was not always an easy task, living with her husband and two children who constantly put her through her paces. She endured a barrage of pets,(some of them rather strange), a family who seemed to always be in the emergency room for one reason or another, a husband with a high stress job as a police officer, and a variety of high school experiences from her children whom she was sure were trying to put her in an early grave. She is survived by her soul mate Walt, her children Carrie and Tim, her grandchildren Issac, Kaia, and Josephine, and her sister Dot and brother Darrell. She was preceded in death by her older brother Wayne, who attended her college graduation and could not have been prouder of his little sister. There will not be a formal memorial service or funeral. The family requests instead that everyone who was lucky enough to meet Deb perform an act of kindness in her honor. She will be missed by all who knew her.