Deborah Lee Kitchen

home in Bonita Springs, Florida.

Debbie was born on July 3, 1949 in Syracuse, NY to Williard Richard Kitchen, Jr. and Jane

Aylesworth Kitchen. Debbie and her sisters, Bonnie Herget, Wendy Spruiell and Joan Belisari,

lived in Ho-Ho-Kus and Ridgewood, NJ, and spent summers at Allegro Pines on Silver Lake,

NH. Debbie attended college at Ohio Wesleyan before studying abroad in Madrid, Spain, where

she fell in love with flamenco guitar music, Manchego cheese, and the spirit of the Spanish

people. Debbie earned a Bachelor’s of Arts degree in Spanish from Boston University.

Debbie’s passion for helping others led her to Columbia School of Nursing where she earned a

Bachelor’s of Science degree in nursing and became a registered nurse.

Debbie moved to Mount Washington Valley in 1975 where she worked as a RN. She and her

former spouse Kim Ficker raised their children, Harvest and Tate, on Back O’ the Mountain

Farm in Denmark, Maine. Debbie adored her kids, horses, dogs, farm life, and adventure.

From riding her horse Majesty, dancing aerobics to Gloria Estefan, skiing with Mountain Mama

friends at Mt. Cranmore, fishing with friends off the shores of Martha’s Vineyard, and planning

her next trip abroad, Debbie was a true lover of life.

In 2010, Debbie ’s passion for the southwest led her to Santa Fe, NM to work as an elementary

school nurse and nursing instructor at Santa Fe Community College. Debbie moved to Bonita

Springs, FL in June 2020 with her three beloved dogs to enjoy the salt water, sandy beaches ,

and sunshine.

Survivors include her daughter Harvest Stephenson, her husband Phillip, and their children

Alvaro and Alma of Hollis, NH; her son Tate Ficker, his wife Devon, and their children Brooke,

Cooper, and Madison of Falmouth, ME; her sister Wendy Spruiell, her husband Graham, and

their daughters Lauren and Julia of Mandeville, LA; and her sister Joan Belisari, her husband

Sandro, and their children Ilaria and Gianluca of Rome, Italy.

She was preceded in death by her father Dick Kitchen in 2007 and her mother Jane Kitchen in

2019. Both lived in Silver Lake, NH and Naples, FL.

A Celebration of Life will be held in Debbie's honor the morning of Saturday, July 10, 2021 at 9:00 AM at the Conway Village Congregational Church, 132 Main Street Conway, NH 03818. Family and friends are welcome.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in Debbie’s honor to Maine State Society for Protection of

Animals (MSSPA), PO Box 10, S. Windham, ME 04082, https://www.msspa.org/give/ , The

Horse Shelter, 821 San Mateo Rd, Santa Fe, NM 87505, https://thehorseshelter.org/donate/ or

Clearwater Marine Aquarium, 249 Windward Passage, Clearwater, FL 33767,

https://mission.cmaquarium.org/ways-to-help-cma/ .