Deborah Ann Christhilf died Saturday of heart failure at Anne Arundel Medical Center in Annapolis. She was 72 years old. The third of nine children of Dr. and Mrs. Stuart M. Christhilf of Annapolis, she was schooled at St. Mary’s in Annapolis, and Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart in Washington D.C. She later attended Stevenson College (then Villa Julie) and the University of Maryland.
From her childhood on Melvin Point, South River, and her later residence on Round Bay, Severna Park, she nurtured a life-long love of animals and the water. She was intelligent, and widely read, herself having written an unpublished book about the mythic Amazon women warriors and received awards for her poetic efforts. She was a kind, loving, generous spirit of remarkable beauty and grace who will be sorely missed by her large family and many friends.
Deborah is survived by her sister Lucinda Wakefield of Queenstown, her brothers: Stuart M., and P. Raab, of Baltimore; Anthony F. and Nicholas D. of Annapolis; Mark M. of Nutley New Jersey; Malcolm P. of Erie Pennsylvania; half-brother George of Baltimore, and many devoted nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her brother Geoffrey M. and her dear friend Pat Winn.