In Memory

Deborah Beck (Rolfe)

                                                                                                                                 

Deborah "Debby" Ann Rolfe, 69, a resident of Staunton, Va., sadly passed away on Monday, March 4, 2019, as a result of a pulmonary embolism. She was born June 26, 1949 in Cleveland, Ohio, the daughter of Elizabeth Dabney McComb and Wilber Ernest Beck, and was raised by her mother and step-father, George Henderson McComb. Debby attended Stonewall Jackson Elementary School, Thomas Jefferson Middle School, and Robert E. Lee High School, in Staunton, Va., and graduated from E. C. Glass High School in Lynchburg, Va. in 1967. She earned her B.S. degree in 1971 from Radford College, in Radford, Va., and began her teaching career in the Lynchburg Public Schools. After several career moves, she retired in 2014 after 15 years with EDM, in Lynchburg, Va., and moved with her husband of 45 years, James Thomas Rolfe, to Staunton, Va. After retiring, Debby enjoyed many years being a docent at Thomas Jefferson's Popular Forest in Forest, Va. and Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library and Museum in Staunton, Va. Debby was also a long-time writer, having completed one novel, was working on another, and had just been published in an anthology of short stories, Deadly Southern Charm. Debby and Tom enjoyed travelling around the world and were returning from a trip to Norway when tragedy struck. She passed away peacefully with her husband and son at her side. Debby will be remembered as a loving wife and mother, with a wonderful warmth and witty sense of humor, and as a tireless caregiver to her parents and in-laws. Survivors include her husband, James Thomas Rolfe; their beloved son, Andrew Thomas Rolfe and his wife, Dr. Jill Stafflinger, of Richmond, Va. (now living in Houston, Texas); her sister, Brenda Beck, and her husband, Tom Wohlmut, of Santa Fe, N.M.; her niece, Kimberly Preston of Scottsdale, Ariz.; and cousins, Oscar "Buck" Dabney and wife, Diane, James "Jim" Dabney and wife, Beth, Glen Dabney and wife, Karen. The funeral will be held at 10 a.m. on Monday, March 11, 2019, at Henry Funeral Home, Staunton, Va., with interment following at Thornrose Memorial Cemetery. Condolences may be sent to the family at www.henryfuneralhome.net.