Debora Wilbourn

A memorial service is scheduled for 10 am Friday, September 3, at Harvest Fellowship for Debora L. Wilbourn of Artesia, New Mexico.

Debora, 66, died on Thursday, August 26, 2021 in Rio Rancho, New Mexico.

David Brunson will officiate at the services. Cremation has taken place under the direction of Terpening & Son Mortuary.

Debora was born on November 20, 1954 in Carlsbad, New Mexico; the daughter of Richard Trone and Dorothy West Trone. When she was a junior in HS, the family moved from Carlsbad to Sacramento NM. She graduated from Weed High School in 1972 and moved to Las Cruces to attend NMSU. She met the love of her life Allan, and they married on August 30, 1974. Shortly after, they moved to Artesia where she resided until her passing.

Deb started her career in Artesia working at Marsha's dress shop. Her career path include working at Western Bank, Yates petroleum, Ralph Nix oil, Marbob, Concho Energy, and Edward Jones. Most of her career worked in the petroleum industry as a land and lease specialist. She took a retirement package in 2019 from Concho. Her final position there was Compliance Regulatory Manager. She wanted to work a couple more years and so she joined Edward Jones as a Branch Office Administrator, where she was planning to fully retire from later this year.

Deb was the definition of a renaissance woman. Her other interests were wide ranging, including: ministry, quilting, horseback riding, traveling, hunting, and shooting. She never owned or used a gun until 2009 when she decided that she wanted a gun for her birthday. Shortly after that she obtained a conceal carry permit, and started attending different shooting camps, schools, events, etc. She went on her first hunt in about 2012 and harvested her first Aoudad in 1 clean shot. She fell in love with hunting and went on many different hunts, including antelope, and elk as well. She started quilting in the past 5 years and has used that skill to bless many people with her quilts as gifts.

Besides her natural gift of ministering to people everyday as part of who she was, She was also involved in several organized ministries: She worked many Emmaus and Journey events and served on the Journey board for many years. After she experienced the healing in her own life, from attending a post abortive healing ministry called Surrendering the Secret, she joined the organization and begin leading local women (and men) through the healing process. Her involvement grew to the point that she served on their international board of directors and was their treasurer. She also was serving as a National Leader for NM, AZ, UT, NV, ID, and AK, and became the
International Outreach Team Leader and training specialist for Surrendering the Secret International. She had over 4,000 STS leaders around the world under her guidance.

This experience and involvement led her to be involved in the formation and operation of the Pregnancy Help Center of Artesia which also very important to her.

Deb of course shared the same love of family with Allan. They both loved nothing more than giving the kids and grandkids some kind of adventure or life experience. From hunting trips, to travel, camping, horseback riding, and ATVing. Their last healthy weekend was spent on an ATV adventure with some of them in the mountains.

She was preceded in death by her parents and a sister Belinda Niemi, first cousins Thomas Stroud and Janean Stroud Feist.

Survivors include her daughters Amanda Wilbourn and Karli Wilbourn; a brother Paul Trone and wife Janis; grandchildren Caedmon Leggett, Presley Leggett and Hendrix Leggett; nephews Brad Trone, Bryan Trone, Matthew Niemi and James Niemi; first cousins Cliff  and Wren Stroud, Rick and  Brenda West, and Rocky and Gay West; and numerous other cousins and relatives.