Deborah Colstrom

Deborah K. Colstrom, passed away early Monday, June 8, 2026, at Presbyterian Manor in Emporia, with her daughter, Laura by her side. She had been fighting her second round of Breast Cancer.

Deb was born on September 15, 1949, in Kansas City, Mo. The daughter of Robert and Lorene Owens Cobb. She lived her childhood in Shawnee, Kansas, and graduated from Shawnee Mission North Senior High School. She was a member of the Shawnee United Methodist Church.

She married Jerrald Dean Colstrom on July 22, 1972, in Shawnee. They lived in Osage City, Kansas until his death in 2009 after which she moved to Emporia, Kansas to be closer to her daughter and family.

Deb worked in Kansas City for the US Department of Labor after graduating high school and in Topeka for the US Air Force at Forbes Field and the US Postal Service after marrying Jerrald. She retired from the US Postal service in 2002, after 35 years of federal civil service. She also worked part-time at Holliday Resort as an office clerk following her move to Emporia.

Debbie enjoyed her family the most! She also enjoyed reading, sewing, and gardening including water gardens.

Debbie will live on in the hearts and treasured memories of her daughter, Laura Dawn Evins and husband Josh of Emporia; her cherished granddaughter, Avery Evins also of Emporia; her brother, Robert Cobb of Kansas City, Kansas. Numerous extended families and a community of friends. She was preceded in death by her husband Jerrald and her parents, Robert and Lorene.

Debbie will be cremated and placed next to her beloved Jerrald at Union Cemetery in Osage City. A service of remembrance will be held at 10:30 AM, Monday, June 15, 2026, at the VanArsdale Funeral Chapel in Osage City, Kansas. The family will receive friends an hour prior to services at the funeral chapel. Memorial contributions in Debbie’s memory, may be made to “Camp Hope” summer camp in Emporia for kids with autism-that Avery attends and sent in care of the VanArsdale Funeral Chapel, 107 N. 6th Street, Osage City, Kansas 66523. Condolences may be expressed at vanarsdalefs.com.