Deborah was born in Portland, Oregon on September 5th, 1954 to Dwayne Melvin Vedder and Donna Deming Vedder. She died, January 8th, 2024 at the Dallas Retirement Center, Dallas, Oregon after many years of battling diabetes and heart problems.
Deborah grew up in Sandy, Oregon, graduating from Sandy High School in 1972. Deborah graduated from the Mt Hood Community College nursing program. Her passion was caring for fragile children. Her work experience included nurse provider for Multnomah County Service District Education, Providence Child Care Center, several children’s summer camps and many years as a private duty RN for children in their family homes. Deborah moved to Salem in order to be closer to her clients. She retired after years of service in West Salem. There she found a community of friends at Unity of Salem, taught children in the education department, prayed with others, and had a vegetable garden.
Deborah loved cats and dogs, especially Boston Terriers. She enjoyed craft projects, made collages, wrote poems, read books and collected turtles. Being the oldest of three brothers and one sister, who she waited ten years for, she started care giving very early in life. She also cared for children at the church and in high school Deborah did homecare for an elderly woman and worked at St Jude’s in Sandy. Sandy Community Presbyterian Church was her church throughout her childhood. She was baptized there when in high school.
Deborah was predeceased by her father Dwayne; brother Donald Wayne Vedder; and grandparents Don and Myrtle Newton-Deming and Dean and Helen Haas-Vedder. She is survived by her longtime companion Eileen Baldron, Salem, OR; mother, Donna Deming Vedder, Sandy, OR; brothers Douglas Alan Vedder, Sandy, OR, David Deming Vedder, Henderson NV; sister Dana Marie Vedder, Sandy, OR; nephews David Michael Vedder, Ferndale, WA, Dakota Vedder, Damascus, OR, Jeffrey Cadem, Little Rock, AK; Aunt Sandra Deming Spencer, Tumwater, WA and many cousins.