Deborah Kay Albu "Debbie" Born at Norfolk Naval Yard hospital near Portsmouth Virginia, on July 23, 1952, while her dad was on active duty in the Navy. She was the first of three children born to this new Wyatt family and was a little too small to come home with her mother, but in a couple days of getting her mother's milk delivered by her dad who came and fed her every day, she was able to go home.

Her father completed his Naval service and the little family returned to Columbia, Missouri and with a few exceptions they lived in Columbia throughout Debbie's childhood and school years. Debbie was noted to be quite the talker in her early school years by several of her teachers who made comments on her report cards. She had several ear infections and they said her difficulty hearing seemed to increase her need to talk to her friends.

Debbie had many stories about her adventures with her brothers and some of her own exploits like crawling out her bedroom window when she supposedly was taking a nap, and walking several blocks, crossing several streets, to get to her grandma's house to have cookies with Grandma. Her brother helped her stuff their younger brother in the vegetable drawer of their refrigerator to see if he would fit. Once the got him in and shut the drawer it sagged and they couldn't get it open. They also helped him into the clothes dryer to give him a ride in the "tumbler".

Debbie went through some trials in her teenage years, having to give up her son Eddie for adoption while in her early teens. She did what she felt was the best thing for him and years later Eddie found Debbie and we have had the greatest fortune to be part of his family ever since.

She went on in life to finish 2 years of high school in a year and a half and worked a part-time job as well. She married Lonie McCulley and they had a little girl. Carmen was born on Christmas Eve and has been dealing with that combination of birthday and Christmas ever since. Lonie joined the US Air Force and was eventually sent to Japan about 5 years after Carmen was born. Debbie and Carmen went to join him there and spent the rest of his tour there with him. They eventually were reassigned to Eglin AFB in Florida and unfortunately the stresses of Lonie's job and memories of his experiences in Panama and Viet Nam led him to alcoholism. After Debbie did everything she could to help him get the help he needed,Debbie felt she had to divorce him and carried on raising Carmen on her own for the most part.

Darrell came into her life as a customer at the little Base Exchange facility she was working. He had also divorced his first wife and had two daughters, Holly and Heather, to take care of. Debbie and Darrell dated throughout the summer and into the fall until he left for his next assignment at Prum Air Station, Germany in November 1982. They corresponded over the next few months and finally on Valentines Day, Darrell called to ask her to marry him, after he had gained the approval of her parents, of course.

Darrell flew back from Germany, and they were married in a simple pool side ceremony. Darrell's parents had driven down from Minnesota and joined Debbie's parents in Columbia, Missouri, and along with Debbie's grandparents they drove down to Florida to attend the wedding. Debbie, Carmen and Darrell flew back to Germany and picked up Darrell's two daughters Holly and Heather from Darrell former wife and went on a honeymoon together at a ski week in southern Germany. Debbie found a job as assistant manager at the small Base Exchange on Prum Air Station, about 70 yards from the shop that Darrell worked.

Over the next 4 years they made a home for their combined family in a 400-year-old house near the village of Prum. Darrell was reassigned to Scott Air Force Base and Debbie found a job at the Base Exchange there. They bought their first house together in O'Fallon, Illinois in 1986. Granddaughter Leann was born that year as well and Carmen and Leann lived with Debbie and Darrell until Carmen married. Almost 5 years later Debbie and Darrell, along with Heather were sent to Lago Patria Receiver Site, about 16 miles north of Naples, Italy. Debbie took a job at the Military Enlisted Club as assistant manager on the Naval Base there and learned how to use the cappuccino machine from the local Italian workers that worked in the kitchen. In the fall of 1994 Debbie and her husband went on an adventure by using an Eurail Pass for 21 days of travel. They visited 17 cities in 11 countries in those 21 days, from Naples to Trondheim, Norway with backpacks and cameras in hand.

After returning to the continental United States and Darrell's final out processing, they had nowhere to be and no time to be there for the first time since they were married. So, they took off on another adventure in their little 1982, 323 Mazda station wagon. They went to see Washington DC first, and then north to Vermont to visit Debbie's brother Frank, then worked their way down the east coast to Florida, interrupted their driving adventure to take a 4 day cruise to the Bahamas from Jacksonville. They continued down the coast to visit friends and crossed over to the gulf side to work their way north to Missouri and on to Darrell's family in Minnesota and then back south to Texas and west to California and on up to Seattle and across to Omaha, taking over 9 months, covering about 25,000 miles passing through 37 states and visiting dozens of friends and family along the way. They stopped in Omaha because their friends, Jan and Ken Foss, from their time in Italy were returning to be stationed at Offutt AirForce Base and Omaha was fairly central to both the Albu family, their now grown children and the Wyatt family.

Debbie took a job as the executive secretary to the president of Nebraska Special Olympics and Darrell went to school and worked part-time. He eventually earned his bachelor's degree in nursing and passed his NCLEX to become a Registered Nurse. He acknowledges that he couldn't have done that without Debbie's constant, unwavering support and encouragement.Debbie also "allowed" him to volunteer to help at the Special Olympics State Games every year. Soon after his graduation, Debbie went to work as a church secretary for a local Baptist church and about a year later, they moved to Fenton, Missouri to be closer to daughter Carmen and 3 grandchildren that were entering their teen years soon.

Debbie took another church secretary job at Second Baptist in Clayton and eventually Darrell talked her into retiring to join him as a Travel Nurse in St. Croix USVI. They went on traveling up to Minnesota and then to Hawaii for a 3-6-month job that would allow them to be there when granddaughter Leann gave birth to their first great grandchild, Victoria in the fall of 2009. This job turned into a 6 year stay in Hawaii. Granddaughter Leann and her family were reassigned to Charleston Naval Training Base in South Carolina after three years in Hawaii. Debbie went into kidney failure soon after they left Hawaii. She went through about 18 months of dialysis before she was able to get a kidney transplant in March of 2014. During this time, Debbie also became a Red Cross Volunteer in the Internal Medicine Clinic where Darrell worked. She came to work after having dialysis in the morning and after the transplant recovery and even in a wheelchair while recovering from the broken ankle in 2015. Her ankle healed and the transplant was stabilized so it was time to return to Fenton. Their mothers were 86 and 95, so they also wanted to spend some time with them as well. Darrell's mother passed away in May of 2016, shortly after they had a good visit with her and the rest of the Albu clan in Minnesota. Debbie's mother is now 96 and living in the same nursing home where Debbie recently passed away. Soon after returning from Hawaii, Debbie became involved in the St Clare Hospital Auxiliary through a chance meeting with Ginny Goede ( the former president of the Auxiliary) and Debbie even let Darrell join as well, and voluntold him to assist with some of the annual sales events from time to time. Debbie eventually became the President of the Auxiliary and thoroughly enjoyed the challenges and opportunities this presented to her. It was one of her deepest regrets that she was unable to complete her term as president and see the new president take over from her. During the period from 2015 to 2025 Debbie and Darrell traveled to Alaska on a cruise, drove to Charleston and Minnesota several times to visit family and friends and took a 16-day cruise through the Panama Canal. Since the spring of 2025 it has just been too uncomfortable for Debbie to travel very far.

Debbie had been fighting cancer since early July of 2025, she went through 5 weeks of radiation therapy, several bouts of pneumonia and finally had a couple of good months before the symptoms returned and she had to start chemotherapy in March. One complication after another finally led to the point that she was never going to be able to return to the active life she wanted, and after some long talks with Darrell and other family members, she decided hospice was the next step. She called friends and family to tell them how much she cared about them, and they returned that to her. Debbie and Darrell had some very good talks at 4:30-5:30 in the morning when no one else was in the room or interrupting them. She was satisfied that they had done everything they could, to return her to health but it just wasn't going to happen. She went shopping on Amazon one last time to pick out her own Teal urn. Darrell went ahead and ordered his matching one in Air Force blue so they can match and be interred together at Jefferson Barracks when his time comes.

Debbie died peacefully at 10:22 PM on April 28th, 2026 at the Ashland Baptist Nursing Home in Ashland Missouri, with Darrell, her son Eddie and daughter Carmen at her side.

Darrell said during these 43 years together, Debbie was the anchor keeping us safe from the rocks of life and he was the sail taking her on adventures, going places they had never been and doing things they had never done.

She will be missed by so many friends and family, coworkers and neighbors, auxiliary members, EMTs, fire fighters and hospital staff, but none more than Darrell.

She was 73 years, 9 months and 5 days old at her death.

Their family includes:

Eddie White and his wife Becky (Phelps) who have three sons, Benjamin Edward White, who Married Alicia Grace Heidbreeder and their son is named Darcy Christopher White, and they live in Fulton Missouri. Son Jonathan Alexander White has a son named Jonathan David (JD)White. Their youngest son is Michell Joseph White, and they live in Kansas City near their parents.

Carmen McCulley Gagnon Young has four children, Michail Schultz, Leann Lynn Gagnon Ecker, and Leann's daughter is Victoria Lynn Ecker. Carmen's son Jordan Gagnon and her youngest son Jereme Gagnon who married Savannah Janek Gagnon and they have son Jaxon Pierre Gagnon and daughter Saleen Rayne Gagnon, all of them live in the Atlanta, Georgia area.

Holly Albu Ellingson Norton has four children and was married to Timothy Ellingson until they divorced and Holly then married Scott Norton. Her oldest daughter is Malynn Blaisdell Ellingson Sukut, her father is Bradley James Blaisdel. Malynn married Russel Sukut and they have son Bradley James Sukut, Malynn also has a daughter Danielle Kaye Ellingson and through her current relationship with James Ricker they have a son named Osiris Ricker and they live in northeast Arkansas. Holly's son Kevin Ellingson Norton is engaged and lives in the Seattle area. Holly's daughter Taryn Marie Ellingson McLaughlin, married Dylon McLaughlin and they have two children daughter Ellie McLaughlin and Odin McLaughlin. Holly's youngest son is Justin Jove Thomas Ellingson Norton and is also engaged and lives in the Seattle area.

Heather Leigh Albu Ohlenkamp Gallion initially married Dennis Ohlenkamp, and they adopted Alicia Rochelle Ohlenkamp and her half-sister Jawna Jo Danielle Ohlenkamp. Heather and Dennis divorced and some years later Heather married Christopher Gallion who has a daughter from his first marriage named Ashley Gallion. Heather and Christopher live in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota.