Debra Rittershouse

Debra (Debbie) Lea Rittershouse, 55, left this life on Sunday, April 15th at her home in Niangua .Debbie was preceded in death by her father, Paul Rittershouse.

Debra is survived by her mother, Aletha Coulter; one son, Travis Williams and his wife, Kristen; her grandson, Landon Williams; one sister and one brother, Sherri Farley and David Rittershouse; her niece and nephew, Leann and Alex Farley; And last, but certainly not least, her partner and love of her life, Robert Comer with whom she lived very happily; and a host of friends and family.

Born to Paul L. Rittershouse and Aletha (Rittershouse) Coulter, Debbie earned her nursing degree at St. John's School of Nursing and worked as a hospice nurse with Hospice Compassus in Springfield. Before becoming a nurse, she worked at Cox Hospital as a Respiratory Therapist in the ICN (Intensive Care Nursery). She was a Respiratory Therapist for 17 years. She was hard-working and compassionate and cared deeply for all her patients. She always personally made sure they were treated with respect and dignity in their final days and did whatever was needed to see that they were as comfortable as possible. She even attended many of her patients' funerals after their passing. Debbie also made front page in Springfield News-Leader in 2011 for saving a woman's life who had been in a car accident. Debbie was driving to visit her mother when she happened upon the accident were a woman in the vehicle was unresponsive and had no pulse. Debbie pulled to the side of the road and administered CPR. She knew when the color returned to the woman's face, that the CPR was successful and that she was going to live. This is just one of many examples of Debbie's nurturing character and love for her job. Her patients always adored her and she loved them.

Debbie was extremely trusting and always put others before herself. She was an amazing daughter, sister, mom, granny and best friend. She enjoyed working in her garden and always loved to post pictures of the many varieties of vegetables she grew and flowers she had planted. Her favorite flowers were Japanese Irises. She enjoyed nature and the peacefulness of the outdoors. She had a zest for life. She had a passion for animals and had many of her own. She could never turn away a stray or mistreated dog or cat and she especially loved the chickens that her partner, Robert had helped her raise and built her a new chicken coop for. She took a special interest in their bee hives as well as learning to make fresh honey from the hives. She and Robert also loved wine-making and experimented with a variety of fruits and even homemade wine from honey!

Debbie was passionate about motor cycles and loved riding on the back of her boyfriend's Harley Davidson with him. She was a free spirit and had a great sense of humor. And she was certainly not ever afraid to speak her mind! You never had to guess what was on Debbie's mind because she would tell you before you had a chance. She also loved shamrocks and anything that represented her Irish heritage. She was proud to be Irish and relished the Irish lifestyle. She never turned down a chance to have a good laugh and a good brew with her friends and family. She was extremely fun to be around. Everyone that knew her knew that where Debbie was, there was bound to be fun! With her long, beautiful, curly, red hair and fair skin, she loved to go to venues with Celtic Irish music and was always first on the dance floor. She always helped anyone close to her whenever they were in need and did so with no expectation of a returned favor. She made the world a fun place and the people around her very happy. On her visit to Ireland, she kissed the Blarney Stone at Blarney Castle, giving her her “gift of eloquence” (or gab). She was not only beautiful on the outside, but on the inside as well. We miss her so very much already and will every day, forever.

Visitation will replace a formal service at Herman H. Lohmeyer Funeral Home (417) 862-4433 at 500 E. Walnut St. in Springfield, 65806 on Sunday, April 21st between 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m.

Permanent online condolences, stories and photos may be shared at wwwhhlohmeyer.com