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Harken, Deborah 'Deb' Berry
Deborah “Deb” Berry Harken
Deborah Lea Harken, 50, of Wamego, Kan., passed away Sunday, Oct. 6, 2013, at Good Shepherd Hospice House in Manhattan, Kan., after a long courageous battle with breast cancer. A memorial service to celebrate Deb's life will be held at 1 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 13, at Lensing Funeral & Cremation Service in Iowa City, with the Rev. Barrie Tritle officiating. A gathering will follow at Joe's Place in Iowa City. An inurnment will be Monday at the Oakland Cemetery in Iowa City. A funeral service will be held at 3 p.m. Wednesday at Irvin-Parkview Funeral Home in Manhattan, Kan.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Susan G. Komen Foundation.
Deb was born in Creston, Iowa, on Jan. 7, 1963, to Daniel and Carol Ann (Roberdee) Berry. Deb graduated from Iowa City High School in 1981 and attended Kirkwood Community College in Iowa City.
On July 16, 1983, Deb married Dean Harken in Iowa City. Dean and Deb renewed their vows in July 2013 in honor of their 30th anniversary.
Deb was a stay-at-home mom until starting a career with Candyopolis where she was a district manager for 10 years until she retired in January 2012. Deb enjoyed spending time with family and friends, cooking and baking and loving her dogs and cats many of which were rescued. Deb was very passionate about raising awareness and funds for breast cancer awareness.
Deb is survived by her husband, Dean of Wamego, Kan.; daughter, Courtney Dehn (Kyle) of Wamego; son, Jackson Harken of Kansas City, Mo.; her parents, Dan and Carol Ann of Iowa City; two brothers, Danny Berry of Salt Lake City, Utah and Brian Berry (Robin) of Fayetteville, N.C.; mother-in-law, Lois Harken of Waterloo; sisters-in-law, Gretchen Harken of Cedar Falls, Becky Koester of Coralville, Toni Carlo (Doug) of Lincoln, Neb. and Karen Harken of Denver, Colo.; bothers-in-law, John Harken of Waterloo and Dale Harken (Kati) of Denver, Colo.; and numerous aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews and friends.
Deb was preceded in death by her grandparents, Sandy and Beatrice Ennis and Clarence and Carol Roberdee; and cousins, Julie and Eric.
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Published in The Gazette Oct. 9, 2013.
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