Deborah Champion ‘Debbie’ Geier

August 25, 1934 - October 10, 2021

CARLSBAD — Deborah Champion Geier passed away on October 10, 2021 from pulmonary complications in Carlsbad, CA.

Born in Springfield, MA, Debbie grew up in Southwick and Longmeadow, MA and graduated from The MacDuffie School in Granby, MA. She received her B.A. from Goucher College in Towson, MD. Upon graduation in 1956, she married Leo Edward Geier of Lincoln, NE and honeymooned in Boothbay Harbor, ME where they would later retire. Debbie criss-crossed the country supporting Leo in his career as a university administrator, living in Baltimore, MD, Palo Alto, CA, Lancaster, PA, Moraga and Oakland Hills, CA, Ithaca, NY, and College Park and Annapolis, MD, before retiring to Boothbay Harbor. Later, she and Leo moved to San Diego to be closer to their children and grandchildren.

Debbie taught for several years as a Montessori preschool art teacher and later worked at Talbot’s in retail sales. She was a proud member of the Junior League and the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America. Throughout her life, she was known and respected for her love of children and for her delight in giving personal gifts to friends and family. She enjoyed sailing, camping, traveling, military band music, genealogy, and the Boston Red Sox.

A loving and devoted wife, mother, grandmother and great grandmother, she is survived by her son, Brad, and daughterin-law, Cathy Geier, of Rancho Santa Fe, CA; her daughter, Jennifer, and son-in-law, Mark Kelley, of Redwood City, CA; nine grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren; her sister, Martha Strachan, and her family of Enfield, CT. She is the daughter of the late Elizabeth Alden Steele and Philip Bradley Steele of Longmeadow, MA and the granddaughter of the late Mr. & Mrs. James Edward Alden and the late Mr. & Mrs. James Eaton Steele, both of Longmeadow, MA.

A private burial will be held at Miramar National Cemetery, San Diego.