Deborah Louise Gansel
April 19, 1959 - October 19, 2023
Deborah Louise Gansel was born April 19, 1959, in Tawas City, Michigan, the first-born child to Alfred David, Jr. and Rebecca (Stoltenberg) Perry. She was later joined by two younger sisters Cheryl and Katherine.
David was in the Air Force, which meant as a child, she and her family made several moves. After her father’s passing in the spring of 1973, the family moved back to Hill City to be close to family. Debbie cared for her younger sisters while her mom went to nursing school.
While attending Hill City High School, she became best friends with Darla (Brandyberry) Goodrow. They have remained close throughout their adult lives.
Debbie graduated from HCHS in May 1977.
On March 10, 1979, Debbie married Michael Horton. They made their home in eastern Texas where he worked in the oilfield, and she was a stay-at-home mom and daycare provider. The couple was blessed with their first child on July 10, 1979, when Michelle Lee entered the world. A few years later, on January 12, 1983, Michael Linn joined the family.
Debbie was very active with her children and was always seen playing with them, going fishing, and doing fun craft projects. She was also a Girl Scout and Boy Scout leader. In October of 1990, Debbie and Mike were divorced and she and her children moved back to Hill City to be close to her mother, Becky.
Once in Hill City, Debbie quickly jumped into the role of a single mother. She worked long hours and nearly every day (often working split shifts) at the Western Hills Restaurant. The customers loved her, and she loved them. The guys at the round table quickly became like family and were often tasked in her children’s teenage years as informants of things that they were trying to keep secret. Debbie always joked with Michelle that she could find out about a mishap before Michelle had time to make up an excuse. Debbie was not only a great mom to her two children, but also took on the role as second mom to many of their friends.
After many declined invitations by her sister Kathy, Debbie finally agreed to go out one night to have a drink and do something besides work. It’s at this time that the romance of Greg and Debbie began. They each have their own version of who caught the other’s attention first, but anyone watching knew what was going to be. The two were engaged July 5, 1991, during a “wonderful” four-day vacation to the cabin in Woodland Park, Colorado. During that time, they traveled to Cripple Creek (before it was a gambling town) and drove miles along Ridge Road enjoying the scenery. The two were married February 14, 1992 at the We’ve Only Just Begun wedding chapel in Las Vegas, Nevada. Throughout their marriage Greg’s family often said that Debbie was the answer to their prayers and was the best thing that ever happened to him.
In the summer of 1993, Greg and Debbie moved into Greg’s grandparents’ house following renovations. Debbie worked tirelessly in the yard making flower gardens, an herb garden, and an overall beautiful backyard with a pond to relax in the evenings. Greg was a devoted husband to Debbie throughout their 31 plus years of marriage.
Debbie started working at the United States Postal Service as a mail clerk and city carrier January of 1999. She had always dreamed of this job and had even tested for it while living in Texas prior to her move back to Kansas. So many of her customers remember her for her contagious smile and laugh, no matter how long the line was or how stressed she might have been. Many customers have mentioned during the time of her illness how they missed the TLC that she gave them at the post office. She enjoyed her co-workers just as much and was always excited to take them some sweet treats to enjoy. If there were too many sweets leftover at home, she took them to the post office, and they would disappear.
In May of 1999, Debbie started her journey in her favorite role, that as grandma. She was one of the best around and as she did with her children, she also became a bonus grandma to many of her grandchildren’s friends. She was known by everyone as Grandma Black, a name given to her by her granddaughter Gracie. While Michelle attended nursing school, Grandma Black took great care of Gabi so Michelle could study and work. After Michelle became a nurse, Debbie was often seen picking up her grandchildren from daycare at Tammy VanLoenen’s if work was keeping her late. Debbie often joked how convenient it was to have a backyard next to the daycare her grandbabies attended and often talked to all the children over the shared fence.
Debbie loved nature and enjoyed a good thunderstorm. She enjoyed the change of the seasons (especially spring and fall) but dreaded the cold of the winter. With each spring, she anxiously awaited the opening of the greenhouse so she could purchase more flowers and plants. She had a large collection of indoor house plants that she kept going all year long and seemed to be able to keep anything alive.
She was also an amazing cook. She rarely followed a recipe but could make everyone’s day with her concoctions. The only thing she hated about cooking was figuring out what to make for supper. She enjoyed hosting Thanksgiving dinners with her family and taking multiple sides to any family dinners. Everyone knew if Debbie was coming, something good was going to be on the table.
She enjoyed gardening and she and Greg had an amazing vegetable garden for many years. She had flats of tomatoes in the summer for all the family to grab from and then canned enough salsa to feed a small army.
She was always an early riser, something she “blamed” on working at the restaurant. She was found each morning at the kitchen table drinking her coffee and finishing the crossword puzzle in the Salina Journal. She truly enjoyed playing games with her grandchildren and was often found playing Scrabble and Upwords. They were always excited if they won, as that was quite the accomplishment, although like most grandmas, the rules were a little different when she played games with them.
As winter settled in this past year, Debbie’s health took a turn for the worse. She and her family rallied to fight this illness through the face of so many complications. Debbie passed away October 19, 2023, at the Graham County Hospital.
Debbie was preceded in death by her parents and grandparents.
Left to mourn are her husband Greg; daughter Michelle (Brett) Billips; son Michael Horton, all of Hill City; grandchildren Gabrielle (Wyatt) Bryant, Great Bend, Gracie, Garrett and Greeley Billips, Cadence McCollum, and Raif Horton, all of Hill City; and great-granddaughter, Saige Bryant; parents-in-law Bert and Marianne Gansel; sisters Cheryl Lee, Stanwood, Washington and Kathy (Tim) Cameron, Hill City; brothers/sisters-in-law Jeff (Sheryl) Gansel, Salina; and Jean (Craig) Morris, Austin, Texas; and numerous nieces, nephews, cousins, aunts, uncles and friends.
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