Deborah Kay Tulig

Deborah Kay (Debbie) Tulig passed away peacefully on July 11, 2024, in Austin Texas, surrounded by her family. Debbie was a cherished wife, mother, daughter, grandmother, and friend who touched the lives of many with her spirit, energy, warmth, and generosity.

Debbie was born on October 15, 1957 in Duluth Minnesota, and raised in St. Paul MN. She was very active in music, church, and sporting activities. She attended the University of Minnesota, receiving a BA degree in psychology, graduating summa cum laude, in 1981. At "the U" she met her life partner, Tom, and they embarked on a spectacular lifetime journey in Texas.

Moving to Houston in 1983, Debbie worked in the energy business, talent and recruiting, and later in the public school system as both administrative support and volunteer. She dedicated much of her life to the raising of three children: David (37), Karen (35), and Nicole (33), and multiple rescue dogs.

Debbie was an icon at Living Word Evangelical Lutheran church in Katy, TX and the Katy community - Sunday School leader, leading adult and especially children's choirs for decades, and many other roles and contributions in the church and schools. Her energy, smile, and deep caring about everyone made her the center of a huge network of friends and family. Her love of sports, both playing (bowling, softball, volleyball,...) and watching (any sport, no matter how obscure), was insatiable, as was her love of Tex-Mex cuisine and associated social activities.

Debbie loved travel - family cruises, beach trips, ski trips, and, especially after retirement, travel across continents with Tom - Europe, North and South America, and the Caribbean. Her love of new places (historical sites across Europe and the Americas) and especially seeing new animals (whales in Alaska, turtles, penguins and sea lions in the Galapagos islands) brought immense joy.

Amongst all of this, her newest and greatest joy was being "Grandma" to Everett (3) and Sierra (1) - in her eyes they could do no wrong, and she would be at their disposal at all times.

Debbie is preceded in death by her mother, Elsie Nelson. She is survived by her devoted husband, Tom Tulig, son and his wife, David and Courtney Tulig, daughters Karen and Nicole Tulig, grandchildren Everett and Sierra, siblings Steve and Gary Nelson, Sharon Glaesemann and husband Scott, sister-in-law Joanne Gaines, father, Floyd Nelson, and multiple nieces, nephews, and cousins. Her family was her pride and joy, and she dedicated her life to nurturing and loving them.

A celebration of Debbie's life will be held at 11am Friday, July 26th at the Lakeway Church in Lakeway, Texas. Family, friends, and all whose lives were touched by Debbie are invited to attend and honor her memory. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Dog Ranch Rescue (dogranchrescue.com) in Debbie's honor, recognizing her enduring love of animals.