Halfway, Oregon
Debra Lynn Boutwell, 49, of Halfway, died July 1, 2001, of natural causes at St. Luke’s Hospital in Boise.
Her funeral was this morning at the Pine Valley Presbyterian Church in Halfway. The Rev. Bill Shields officiated. Interment was at Pine Haven Cemetery.
Mrs. Boutwell was born July 12, 1951, at Wichita, Kan., to Louis and Betty Brooks Sharp. She graduated in 1969 from Corona High School in Corona, Calif.
She met her future husband, Homer Boutwell, through a cousin of Homer’s. They had known each other just about a week when Homer asked her: “Do you know how to cook? Do you keep a clean house?”
She had the right answers, as well as her mother’s permission. One week later, on July 8, 1972, she married Homer Boutwell in Enid, Okla., at Homer’s parents’ home. Of this union they had two daughters, Angela and Teresa. In the fall of 1986, the family moved to Halfway.
Mrs. Boutwell had a great talent in hobbies and crafts. She enjoyed making items for her family which included photo albums, stuffed cows, pot holders, blankets, etc. She enjoyed visiting with friends, eating out, shopping and especially talking to her specially named friends on the telephone. Some of those telephone pet names included one knowing that he was her “only friend,” or “Mamasita,” or “double trouble”. . . and sometimes “triple trouble.”
She always had a positive attitude and never knew a stranger. She loved her family very much and enjoyed every moment she could be with them.
Mrs. Boutwell is survived by her husband, Homer; her daughters and sons-in-law, Angela and J.P. Binford of Halfway, and Teresa and Paul Kelly of Boise; four grandchildren, Candace and Timothy Binford, and Elijah and Noah Kelly; her mother, Betty Sharp of Halfway; her sisters, Betty Pierson of Reseda, Calif., Betty Joyce “B.J.” Smith of Corona, and Donna Ogle of Paducah, Ken.; her brother, Robert Wright of Humble, Texas; and her loving additional companions, her five chihuahuas.
She was preceded in death by her father.
In lieu of flowers, donations in Mrs. Boutwell’s memory may be sent to the family in care of Tami’s Pine Valley Funeral Home, P.O. Box 543, Halfway, Ore., 97834.
Used with permission from: The Baker City Herald, Baker City, Oregon, July 6, 2001
Transcribed by: Belva Ticknor