Deborah F. Wade

Deborah Frances Wade (Utard) passed away peacefully on Sunday July 12, 2020 in Denver, Colorado after a long struggle with chronic pulmonary disease. Our world is a lesser place without her sparkling eyes and wicked smile.

Always a proud Denver native, Deb was born at General Rose Memorial Hospital on October 7, 1950. She graduated from George Washington High School in Denver in 1968 and attended Colorado State University in Fort Collins. As a child, she had a passion for dance, playing piano and bowling. She was best known for her competitive spirit and a sharp sense of humor. There wasn’t a card game she couldn’t teach you, then beat you at relentlessly. She would bet anyone that her beloved Broncos would win against any team and enjoyed attending games with her friends and family. Her life-long love of travel was spawned by her grandparents. She could never pass up the chance to embark on a lengthy cross country road trip, hop a transatlantic flight to London, take a cruise to the Caribbean or Alaska, or spend five days in a noisy theme park.

Deb moved with her husband and children to Sandy, Utah in 1980 where she received her Associates Degree in Accounting and worked as a secretary and bookkeeper for many years. Deb was the Utah Women’s State Bowling Champion in 1981 and joined the Women’s Professional Bowling Tour from 1981-1983.

Deb and her family moved again in 1989 to Murfreesboro, Tennessee to follow their entrepreneurial spirit and open their own pizza restaurant. She followed her children and returned to her Colorado home in 1998 where she indulged in her love for animals and started her own dog sitting business in Highlands Ranch.

She is survived by her daughter Heather Wade Hazeldine (Evergreen, Colorado) and her three grandchildren: Brandon Wade (Aurora, Colorado), Ceri Hazeldine (Evergreen, Colorado), and Teagan Hazeldine (Evergreen, Colorado). She will be deeply missed by her many cousins and close circle of friends.

She was preceded in death by her mother, Dolores “Dodie” Sheppard Utard (1983), her father Charles “Fred” Utard (1988), her son Shawn Michael Wade (2010), and her husband Marvin Lee Wade Sr. (2014).

Memorial services are planned for September 20th, 2020 and additional details will be shared as they become available.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Deb’s memory may be made to the Denver Dumb Friends League Animal Rescue ( www.ddfl.org ).

Our deepest thanks to The Denver Hospice and Hallmark Nursing Center for their kindness, caring and compassion.

Family was so important to her, and she will be with them always.