Debra Flora Simonsen

 Those close to Debra Flora Simonsen knew her as a genuine, compassionate, selfless woman, a person they loved for her friendly nature, a person they loved even more when they needed a listening ear, a quick laugh, a caring heart, an open mind and a helping hand.

She freely offered all the above, in a way wholly unique to her.

Debbie was born on April 30, 1957, in Pasadena, Calif., to Henry and Leora Marcheschi, and passed away on Friday, Oct. 11, 2024, in Salt Lake City, surrounded by many of those she loved; family and friends who had, indeed, been blessed by her nature, her ear, her laugh, her heart, her mind, her hand. She sadly died of heart failure, even though her heart never failed anyone else.

She was 67 years old at her passing. Too young for those who loved her, but old enough to have touched the lives of hundreds and hundreds of souls who count themselves favored and fortunate to have known her. 

Deb had three brothers, Tom, Michael and Christian, and one sister, Lisa. After graduating from Brigham Young University, she met her husband, Allen Simonsen, back in the city where she was born and raised, one of the two places she considered home. Allen said when he met Debbie, he thought she was flirting with him because “she was batting her eyes at me,” but he later discovered she had an eye infection. “She was deep and spiritual and classy,” Allen said. “She was demanding, but had a kind, friendly charm about her. And she beat me at racquetball. I was impressed.”

They were married in the Los Angeles (LDS) Temple in 1983. That started a journey that included the births of five children — straight A’s — Austen, Amanda, Amy, Adam and Allyson, and the ongoing tender nurturing of each of those kids. Being a mother became the centerpiece, the foundation of Debbie’s existence. It became her life’s calling — until 11 grandchildren arrived, and, one by one, that call expanded.

It was always expanded, really, because she never forgot or neglected her mom and dad, her brothers and sister, and their kids, as well as the friends she made en route from her childhood to adulthood. Although she most definitely was a homebody, she warmly welcomed and reached out to travelers in this life, travelers who became friends. Once anyone became a friend of Debbie’s, that they stayed. She was as loyal as she was loving, to those she met in California and to those she came to know after moving to her second home, North Salt Lake, Utah, in 1998.

Her loves, beyond human beings, included the ocean and the beach upon which its waves churned and crashed. The sights, sounds and smells of the ocean, everything about them, spoke to her in a way only beach lovers will understand. She was captivated by turquoise waters and the seashells they washed up on the sand.

Debbie was connected to Italy by spirit and by family. Her father, Hank, was a full-blooded Italian who was born just a year after his parents moved from the Tuscany area to Chicago, and thus, she had many Italian relatives who she adored. Hank’s brother, Leroy, was a particular favorite, and not because he slipped her sips of beer when she was a youngster, rather because he reminded her so much of her dad, a man she respected more than anyone on God’s green Earth.

She inherited from her mom, Leora, a giving essence. Debbie gave gifts, and more gifts, and more, always with handwritten notes on cards attached, expressing encouragement or appreciation or admiration of one sort or another. In her stylish handwriting, she wrote out a thousand notes on cards — to you and you, and you and you and you.

She was athletic, though she never considered herself that. She hit home runs playing softball, and, never having had a lesson, accomplished what nobody accomplishes — she darn-near mastered the game of golf on her first round.

Debbie went to games, recitals, programs, school events, supporting her kids and grandkids in whatever they did, dedicating her life to them. She even watched dumb action movies with them and acted as though she actually liked them.

Strong religious beliefs were at her core, but she did not preach at her kids, even on those occasions when they chose different roads than she would have. She taught them, loved them, and then accepted their decisions. She looked directly at them with her beautiful, brown eyes, listened to them, opened her heart and mind to them, truly hearing them out. She listened to and heard everyone who leaned toward her.

That’s why friends and family alike call her name blessed, and feel themselves blessed for having had the privilege, the grace, the gift of being with her and knowing her and loving her in this life. Their love for and memories of Debbie echo now into and through the eternities.

She is survived by her husband Allen, children Austen, Amanda (Demarcus) Warner, Amy (Bobby) Farrell, Adam, Ally, and her grandchildren; siblings Tom (Cyndi) Marcheschi, Lisa (Gordon) Monson, Michael (Melanie) Marcheschi, Christian (Monica) Marcheschi, and many nieces and nephews.

 A celebration of her life will be held at the Lindquist Mortuary in Bountiful, UT, (727 N. 400 E.) on Monday, Oct. 21, at 11 a.m. A viewing will take place there on Sunday, Oct. 20, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., and preceding the celebration/funeral service on Monday, from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. Interment will follow at 1:00 p.m. at Lakeview Memorial Cemetery (1640 Lakeview Dr., Bountiful, UT.)

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