Deborah (Swehla) Fitzgerald |
| Posted 2017-01-20 by Judy Wight Branson |
| The Daily Courier, Prescott, Arizona Friday, December 30, 2016, page 9a Deborah Fitzgerald, 64, passed away unexpectedly on Dec. 26, 2016, at her home in Apache Junction, Arizona. She was born on Jan. 7, 1952, in Austin, Minnesota, to Ronald and Dorothy (Schmidt) Swehla. Deb grew up in the Midwest and graduated from Valley City High School, Valley City, North Dakota. After high school, she attended North Dakota State University. The family then moved to Minnesota where she worked at St. Mary’s Hospital in Rochester, Minnesota. Later in life she moved to Prescott. While working and raising her family, she completed her education at Northern Arizona University where she attained her Master’s Degree with dual certification in special education and elementary education. She taught school in Crown King and Black Canyon City, until she moved to the Phoenix area in the late ’90s. She completed her teaching career in the Phoenix schools. Deb’s favorite hobbies included hiking, card playing, music, camping and going to Diamondbacks baseball games. She and her family were avid Grand Canyon hikers. She was a member of Saint Thomas More Parish in Glendale, Arizona, where she was actively involved in many parish activities including choir and finance committee. Family and friends will remember her as a kind, compassionate person who always put the needs of others before her own. Her greatest love was her family, and foremost, she was a dedicated and loyal mother and grandmother. Her father, Ronald Swehla, and nephew Eric Alves preceded Deborah in death. She is survived by her mother, Dorothy Swehla of Prescott, Arizona; sons, Chris (Susan) of Apache Junction, Arizona, and Corey (Amy) of Tucson, Arizona; daughter, Kim Maier (Joe) of Dana Point, California; sister, Diane Cambridge (Pete) of Tucson; brother, Craig Swehla (Julie) of Cobb, California; brothers, Scott Swehla (Terry) of Santa Rosa, California, and Mike Swehla of Prescott Valley, Arizona; as well as five grandchildren; plus many nieces and nephews. Funeral Mass will be at 10 a.m. Jan. 6, 2017, at Saint Thomas More Catholic Church, 6180 W. Utopia Road, Glendale, Arizona. Reception to follow. If you would like to make a donation, please consider the National Association for Down Syndrome, nads.org. She was a special education teacher and had a grandchild with Down Syndrome. This is a cause that was near and dear to her heart. Information provided by survivors. |
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