Deborah “Deb” Jeanne Fooks (née Baerg) of Kimberley, British Columbia, passed away peacefully on June 4, 2026. She went into the arms of her Saviour surrounded by the love of her family, where we have no doubt she was welcomed with joyful singing, dancing, and laughter.

Debbie was born on April 24, 1954, in Lethbridge, Alberta. She was the youngest of seven children growing up on a farm in Riley, AB. When Deb was 15 years old, she and her friend Linda Birch decided to purchase secondhand fur coats and hitchhike across BC on an epic adventure. Eventually they were convinced to end their vagabonding and move back to Cranbrook, where she lived with her sister Evelyn (Terry) Cahill. Ev was also her best friend and a second mother figure to her throughout their lives.

Deb eventually made her home in Kimberley in 1975, where she married David Fooks and spent 51 years building a life together in the log home they built with their own hands. Together they raised their three children and had a life filled with family, friends, and community. Deb was the heart of her family, being a mom and later “Grandmama” was her biggest joy. She loved cuddling her kids as they grew up and later her grandkids, reading stories to them even after she could not form sentences. She just loved being with them.

Whether it was camping, skiing out back, or any other adventure, she was the one behind the scenes planning and executing food, clothes, friends to come along and everything else needed to pull off the best time. Deb will always be remembered as a force of nature. A strong and loving matriarch who fiercely protected and provided for not only her own family, but also her extended family, friends, and the many young people, orphans and stragglers who found a second home and respite under her roof. We will forever remember the lessons she taught us about faith, joy, resilience, compassion, generosity, and unconditional love and devotion.

Known for her welcoming home and her delicious meals, feeding people was one way in which Deb expressed her love and the ministry Jesus had placed on her heart. Whether around her own kitchen table or through Bill Pickles’ Deli and Grace’s Place Café, where she employed many single mothers, she found joy in nourishing others, often for free. In Kimberley she became known for her legendary baking, especially her pies, brownies, and almond pastries. Those who were lucky enough to enjoy one of her banana cream pies know that no one will ever make one quite like Deb.

Beyond the kitchen, Deb found happiness in her gardens. She spent countless hours tending lilies, roses, peonies, and every flower imaginable, transforming her yard into a place of beauty and peace where she would host many a tea party for her like-minded friends. Inevitably, someone would go home with a cutting, or she would bring a new one home as they swapped plants. She also loved collecting rocks, particularly heart-shaped stones and very, very large rocks that would take multiple people to move. She treasured the many collections displayed throughout her garden and passed her love of rock hunting on to the special people in her life.

In her later years, Deb faced the diagnosis and challenges of Primary Progressive Aphasia with strength and mental toughness, as though her sheer will could overpower the inevitable outcome. While the disease gradually took her words and her freedom, it could never diminish the love she inspired or the strength of her spirit. Though her family has been grieving her gradual loss for years, they find comfort in knowing she is now at peace and reunited with her parents, Jacob and Tina Baerg, brothers; Irvin, Art and Bill; her second parents, Allan and Nina Fooks, and beloved extended family members.

Deb leaves behind to cherish her memory her husband of 51 years, Dave Fooks; her favourite children, Travis (Cynthia)Fooks, Becky Kamps, and Christie Pighin; her adored grandchildren, Kalan, Jaxon, Sienna, Juliana, Evan, and Elijah; her best friend and sister, Evelyn Cahill; her brothers and sisters-in-law, Al (Marion), Doug (Carol), Elaine, Judy, Bob and Barb Agland; cherished nephews and nieces; and a wide circle of extended family and dear friends whose lives were enriched by her love and kindness.

A celebration of Deb’s life will be held in July at Stoney Lake, one of her favourite places, for her immediate family.

Think of her whenever you come across a heart-shaped rock or see beautiful peonies blooming in the spring. Shelter and feed those who need it. Make time for dancing in the kitchen. In those small reminders, her love and spirit will continue to live on.