Deborah Coonts Obituary

Coonts
Deborah Jean Deehring
Coonts
November 13, 1949
February 1, 2025

Deborah Jean Deehring Coonts of White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, passed away peacefully on the evening of February 1, 2025, at Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital in Roanoke, Virginia. Deb was born on November 13, 1949, the second child of Russell and LaVera Deehring, both of whom are of course deceased. Her family spent her first two years in Barrington, Illinois, then moved farther out the northwest commuter corridor to Arlington Heights, where she attended public schools. Upon graduation she spent three years at the University of Wisconsin at Oshkosh, then her senior year at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley. After college she married Larry Kreuger and they moved to Colorado Springs.
Although she was a certified secondary school teacher, she disliked teaching and got a masters in counseling at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, then taught counseling courses at Colorado Springs Community College. Deb wasn't happy with that career option either. She began buying and renovating home and ski-area condos, then decorating and selling them, a career in which she succeeded magnificently. She kept it up until the housing market collapse of 2008. She was the master of "fix and flip" before there was a "fix and flip."
Mr. Krueger and Deborah divorced; in 1980 she married Dennis Hartley, a criminal defense attorney in Colorado Springs. That marriage lasted until 2009. As Deborah Hartley, she wrote a children's book, Up North In Winter, which was published in 1986 by E. P. Dutton. The illustrations were done by Lydia Dabcovich. The success of that literary adventure was so unexpected that Deborah never attempted another. Long out of print, the book is still occasionally available in the used book market on-line.
Deborah served on the boards of many non-profits, including 17 years on the board of Aspen Pointe, the six-county provider of mental health services in the Colorado Springs area. She even served a term as chairman of that board. She and her friend, the late Becky Hurley, created Pasta in the Park and followed it up a few years later with Rocking the Sixties, both fund-raisers for Silver Key Senior Services in Colorado Springs.
She is survived by her brother Dr Randall Deehring of Avon, Ohio; daughter Erin Clements and son Patrick Hartley, as well as two grandsons, Hunter and Brendan Rosson, all of Colorado Springs; and her husband, novelist Stephen Coonts, whom she married in September 2011. Deborah was the best thing that ever happened to Steve. Her passing leaves a huge hole in his life, as it does to all those who loved her.
Services for Deborah will be held at First Presbyterian Church of White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, on February 15, with the Rev. Mr. Frank Naglic officiating.