Dr. Debra Kaye Jenkins

Dr. Debra Kaye Jenkins,

of Rugby, North Dakota,

the daughter of Ivan and

Ruth Ann Sundberg (Carl-

son) was born August 24,

1954 in Roseville, Min-

nesota. A faithful servant

of Christ, wife, mother,

and friend died suddenly

at the age of 64 on Tues-

day, November 27, 2018

due to several health re-

lated complications.

Deb was raised in the

home of her parents and

graduated from Alexander

Ramsey High School in

1972. She was united in

marriage to Robert N. Jen-

kins on September 13,

1975 in Roseville, Min-

nesota. Deb was a proud

housewife and artist in

the Twin Cities before

moving to Rugby in 1987

where she found Village

Arts theater by going to a

production of “Annie”.

She fell in love with the

show and auditioned for

“My Fair Lady” with Bob

and Jacob in the summer

of 1988. Over the next 30

years, Deb spread her joy

of music and the arts

through Village Arts ap-

pearing in or directing

over 20 productions and

serving as a board officer

for over 20 years. Seeking

to serve the community of

Rugby and further the

love of music, Deb, an ac-

complished cello player,

taught herself how to play

violin and began to give

music lessons. Much to

her delight, children and

adults alike took interest

and grew a love for string

instruments. Deb founded

the Village Arts string

orchestra and symphonic

orchestra she directed for

the last 15 years. She is

the author of

“Borderlands of the Sky”.

Deb was also one of the

founders of Backstage Gal-

lery and Gift Shoppe in

Rugby, ND.

Deb had a lifelong love

of learning which started

at a very young age. When

she was 12 years old, she

started a home summer

school. Children from

around the block would

come for the morning and

participate in lessons and

activities for five days a

week over five weeks.

Deb organized all of the

lessons and taught every-

thing on the patio of her

childhood home. Upon

graduating high school,

she attended Mankato

State where she studied

Russian and played in the

orchestra under conduc-

tor Herman Hertz. For a

time, Deb attended Ham-

lin University where she

studied Theater Design.

She learned to play the

cello, violin, viola, harp,

piano, guitar, and started

learning clarinet. She

used to love reading

books on an array of sub-

jects from gardening and

home improvement, to

music and theater, to arts

and crafting and every-

thing in between. Her love

of learning led to her

desire to go back to

school. She graduated

Magna Cum Laude at the

University of North Dako-

ta with a bachelor’s degree

in instructional design

and technology. She

earned a Master’s Degree

from UND and had earned

a PhD in Instructional

Design and Technology

this past spring. She was

slated to walk through

graduation and be hooded

during the graduation

ceremony in December.

Deb was looking forward

to beginning the journey

to become a master gar-

dener through UND this

coming spring.

Deb re-dedicated her

life to Christ after high

school and was a former

member of Roseville

Christian Fellowship and

the Colonial Church of

Edina, Minnesota, and a

member of Restoration

Ministries in Rugby where

she also served on the

board for a time. One of

her favorite memories was

of meeting with Doug and

Phyllis Kedl in Roseville

for Friday night fellow-

ship and spending many

evenings with Darryl and

Cindy Jelsing in Rugby.

She had a deep love of the

Lord and enjoyed sharing

her faith with others.

Deb was a people per-

son and poured out love

to many in the communi-

ty of Rugby and every-

where she went. From the

time she was a young

woman and would bring

people home who needed

help until the time of her

passing, many were

touched by her love and

compassion. Three people

in particular played a

large role in her life and

were her greatest friends:

Glory Monson, Robin Gar-

nas, and Cindy Jelsing. It

is through Village Arts

theater that Deb met Glory

and they became quick

friends. For over 20 years,

they directed summer

theater together, put to-

gether writing and art

workshops, and organized

and directed musical

events. Their shared love

of arts quickly became a

shared love for one anoth-

er for all of Mom’s years

in Rugby. People often be-

lieved that Deb, Cindy,

and Robin were sisters

and could often be seen

together around Rugby

and travelling together to

Bismarck and Minot.

Although always cantank-erous and quarrelsome,

the love shared among

these friends fueled Deb

and helped her to carry on

until the very end.

On January 29, 2004

Deb’s life was forever

changed when the love of

her life, Robert Jenkins,

lost his battle with cancer.

In the years that fol-

lowed, she felt that a large

piece of her soul was

missing. Through this all,

Deb fought on and dedi-

cated herself to improving

the lives of those around

her and in the community

of Rugby through music,

theater, and art. She

leaves a lasting imprint on

all that she met and her

legacy lives on through

her family and every one

of her beloved students,

theater cast mates, and

orchestra members.

Survivors include

daughter Abigail (Ross)

Menzies; four sons, Ben-

jamin and grandchildren

Jordan, Lillian and Ivan,

Jacob (Amy) Jenkins and

grandchildren Eric and

Caleb, Adam (Desirae)

Jenkins and grandchildren

Ava and Allyson, and

Josiah (fiancee Jessie) Jen-

kins; sister Margo Sund-

berg; brother Brian (Lin-

da) Sundberg; brother-in-

law Chris (Jane) Jenkins;

sister-in-law Lynn Jen-

kins; several nieces,

nephews, other family,

and a host of friends.

She was preceded in

death by husband Robert

Jenkins, brother Brad

Sundberg, mother Ruth

Ann Sundberg, father

Ivan Sundberg, father-in-

law James Jenkins, and

mother-in-law Geraldine

Jenkins.

Funeral services will be

held at 2:00 p.m. Satur-

day, December 1st at Res-

toration Ministries in Rug-

by. Michael Jelsing,

Presiding.

Visitation will be from

5:00 to 7:00 p.m. Friday

with a prayer service and

sharing of memories be-

ginning at 7:00 p.m. at the

Anderson Funeral Home

in Rugby. Visitation will

continue on Saturday for

one hour prior to the time

of services at the church.

Arrangements with the

Anderson Funeral Home

of Rugby, North Dakota.

Online registry:

www.funeralsbyanderson

.com.