Debra moved with her mother to Plentywood, Sheridan County, Montana in 1963. She was of Plentywood in 1972, when she graduated from the eighth grade at Plentywood High School.

Debra died on the evening of Saturday, May 27, 1972, aged 14, five miles south of Outlook, Sheridan County, Montana. She and another girl, Suan Kay Kisler, 15, were killed in an accident. Debra was survived by her father, of Sebeka, Minnesota, her mother, of Plentywood, paternal grandparents Mr. and Mrs. William Hunke of Sebeka, and maternal grandparents Mr. and Mrs. Emil Tappe of Plentywood. Funeral services were held at 10:00 A.M., Wednesday, May 31, 1972 at the Plentywood High School, the Rev. Albert Becker officiating. Fulkerson Funeral Home was in charge of the arrangements. Burial was in Plentywood Memorial Cemetery, Plentywood, Sheridan County, Montana.