Debra Lou (Mulder) Pearson

On July 4, 2019 Deb finished her earthly race and went on to receive her crown of righteousness from her Lord and Savior.  Deb began her earthly race on July 23, 1957.  She was the third daughter of John and Esther (DeHaan) Mulder .  Her dad was blind and she became his eyes and helper in life and in his woodshop.   She died on Thursday, July 4, 2019 at her home, after a four-year courageous battle with lymphoma. She was surrounded by her loving family which she was very proud of.

Deb attended the Prosper, one room school, which was just down the road from the family farm.  She graduated from Northern Michigan Christian High School and went on to earn her nursing degree from St. Mary’s School of Nursing in 1979.  She loved working in the hospital emergency room and did this for many years until her family grew and she moved to surgery then on to Council on Aging where she completed home assessments and set up medications for the elderly. 

Her quick wit and easy smile made it easy for her to help others which gave her great joy.  She had a sense for knowing when someone needed help and would quickly offer it whether it was a meal, a lawn mowed, or an encouraging visit. Her great faith made her a prayer warrior for many, as well as a Sunday school teacher, Gems Leader and Early Teen Ministry Leader for many years.

Deb was a gifted musician.  She began playing piano for church services when she was 14 years old.  She continued playing piano and organ for many years both at her home church and at several other area churches.  As the battle with cancer took away many of her abilities in life, she continued to fill her home with music as she played songs from memory.

Deb had many interests in life. She loved crafts, sewing, quilting, photography, and woodworking.  She was an avid outdoors person and loved to hunt, fish, ski, snowshoe, and in later years took up running.  She excelled in most everything she did.  After taking up running at the age of 50, she qualified and ran the 2015 Boston Marathon.  Later in 2015, Deb and her husband Bill took a trip of a lifetime to Alaska where they fished, camped, and enjoyed the beautiful scenery of Alaska.  Later in 2015 she began her battle with lymphoma. 

On October 4, 1980, she married William (Bill) Pearson at the Prosper Christian Reformed Church.    This marriage was blessed with four children, John (Maria), Ben (Leah), Will (Amanda), and Jane.  In addition to her husband and children, Deb is survived by eight grandchildren, Anna, James, Caleb, Abram, Nathan, Adaline, Eli and Avalee, her mother  Esther Jourden, two sisters, Joyce (Gord) VanHaitsma, Mary (Steve) DeKam,  sisters-in-law Delores (Ken) Painter, Marilynn (Bill) Pearson-Yarmak and many beloved nieces and nephews.  She was preceded in death by her father Henry John Mulder, father and mother in law, Lial and Fern Pearson, and sister in law, Paulette Pearson.

Funeral services will be held Sunday July 7, 2 p.m. at the Lake City Christian Reformed Church with Pastor Rod Kamrath officiating.  Visitation will be at Young-Holdship Funeral Home in Lake City on Saturday, 2-4 pm and 6-8 pm and on Sunday at the church at 1:00 pm until time of services.  Her final earthly resting place will be Moddersville East Cemetery

Donations in her memory may be directed to the Northern Michigan Christian School Building Fund, 128 Martin St. McBain, MI 49657 or to the American Cancer Society’s Hope Lodge, 129 Jefferson Ave. SE, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 49603.

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