Deborah Merritt Durkee
Deborah Merritt Durkee, 70, of Ridgefield, passed away peacefully at her home on March 25, 2020. She grew up in Hohokus and Ridgewood, NJ before moving to Ridgefield with her family. Along with her husband, Thomas O’Keeffe, she was a 1967 graduate of Ridgefield High School.
Deborah and Tom were married for almost 41 years, and enjoyed a truly loving and caring relationship. The couple were very proud of their two wonderful children, daughter Diana O’Keeffe Kulkarni and her husband Saleel Kulkarni of Wellesley, MA, and son Devin O’Keeffe and his wife Cathryn O’Keeffe of Bethel, CT.
Deborah worked for many years as a Realtor in Ridgefield for William Pitt Southeby’s. Prior to Deborah’s lengthy career in Real Estate, she had worked as a Graphic Designer, having graduated from Parsons School of Design and The New School in New York City. Deborah had many diverse hobbies and interests, and worked for a number of charitable causes, most recently the Regional Hospice. Deborah also enjoyed travel, but her deepest love and enjoyment came from spending lots of quality time with her family; especially her two little granddaughters, Brynn and Avery Kulkarni. Deborah was also a real animal lover, and always enjoyed being around animals of all kinds.
In addition to her immediate family, Deborah is survived by her sister, Susan Durkee (husband, Terry VonTobel), of West Redding, CT, her brother, Rob Durkee (wife, Phyllis) of Pawling, NY, and brother, Bruce Durkee (wife, Gunilla Lindwall) of Gotland, Sweden. She was predeceased by her father, Robert Durkee and mother, Lilyan Garside Durkee. In addition to her big beautiful blue eyes and ever-present warm smile, Deborah will always be remembered for her extremely warm and caring personality…she loved life!!
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to Regional Hospice of Danbury. For more information please visit: regionalhospicect.org This is an organization that was near and dear to Deborah’s heart even before they helped to keep her comfortable at the end of her life.
Due to present circumstances, the family has decided to hold a Celebration of Life this summer.
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