Obituary – Debbie Poore

Debbie was one of the kindest, most joyful, and most faithful Christian woman anyone could hope to meet. She was one of five children born to James and Marilyn Woosley on February 12, 1961, in Bloomington, Illinois. Growing up on the farm outside Garden Grove, Iowa, she spent her days searching the creek for arrowheads with her older sisters, now Shari Brimm of Garden Grove, Iowa, Cindy Anderson of Edger, Missouri, and Brenda Adams of Kellerton, Iowa. She also spent countless hours on the farm milking cows with her dad and helping her mom cook and do the dishes.
When Debbie was thirteen, her dad bought a farm in Felt, Oklahoma, and the family moved — though it was never entirely clear why, only that the deal was too good to pass up. Because the school was small, Debbie took part in nearly every activity her farm life allowed, her favorite being cheerleading. The family called the Oklahoma prairie home for a few years in the early 1970’s before moving back to Iowa.
Back in Iowa, Debbie attended Mormon Trail High School, where she played in the band and cheered as a cheerleader, eventually becoming majorette and leading the band down the field and through the streets during parades. In 1977, she welcomed her baby brother, Jimmy Woosley. After graduating in 1979, she attended Tarkio College in Tarkio, Missouri. While she was in college, her family moved to Minnesota to build a dairy business, prompting Debbie to transfer to the University of Minnesota-Morris, where she studied with plans of becoming an attorney and later graduated as a Golden Cougar.
Life on the dairy farm meant long days, and Debbie and her sisters milked Holstein cows morning and night. She stayed on the family farm after graduation, treasuring the time spent with her parents. When an orchard came up for sale just outside Willcox, Arizona, it proved another opportunity too good to pass up, and the farm girl from Iowa became an orchard manager. She later took a job with the Willcox Police Department as a dispatcher, working alongside people she came to admire. In Willcox she was introduced to the Church of Christ where she found the faith that would guide the rest of her life. There she also met her first husband, Brian Staples. Debbie’s years in Willcox were filled with rodeos and long days at the police department.
Debbie continued to live in Willcox but traveled back to Iowa often to visit her family, who had since moved home. It was on one of these trips, in 1994, that she met her second husband, Douglas Poore. In 1996, Debbie and Douglas welcomed a son, Matthew Poore, and Debbie’s life changed once again for the better. She welcomed two stepchildren into her life with open arms with Scott and Kristen Poore. She loved raising her son, fishing, helping Doug on the farm, and started her own grant writing business. Debbie worshipped at the Blockton Church of Christ, where she found deep community, and no matter what someone was going through, she always had a Bible verse ready to offer comfort.
Debbie’s grant writing raised funds to start a neighborhood resource center in Mount Ayr, Iowa where she acted as director. Through her work with the resource center, she helped many families in the community find quality childcare. She adored children and always greeted them with a smile in the hallways. In 2007, Debbie joined the Pedersen Law Firm in Mount Ayr, drafting documents for the attorney and helping community members prepare their taxes. She loved going to work each day alongside Donna and Jim Pedersen and truly enjoyed helping other people.
In 2018, Debbie was diagnosed with a rare, progressive brain disorder called Posterior Cortical Atrophy. She met her diagnosis with grace. This year was also filled with joy as she became a grandmother to Scott and Chandra Poore’s daughter, Karly. She loved her granddaughters, Karly and Kamryn, with all her heart and enjoyed babysitting. As her disease progressed, she moved in with her sister, Shari, to spend her final years in her happy home. Debbie passed away a beloved child of Christ on July 5, 2026, at the age of 65 years.