Deborah Deane Krummel

Deborah was diagnosed with cancer of the stomach and liver on June 9, 2025 and died peacefully at her home on July 28, 2025. She was born April 23, 1952 in Harlingen, Texas to Nathalie and Lancing Barnes and spent most of her young life in Corpus Christi, Texas.

After marrying her husband, Rev. Dr. Richard Krummel in 1982, Deborah earned a master’s degree in Marriage and Family Counseling. She and Richard established a private practice in west Houston and for forty years traveled together to and from the office while providing psychological services to children, adolescents and adults. She was a talented therapist and a gifted spiritual advisor. They also shared many adventures together whether domestically or internationally. They enjoyed learning of the history of the countries of Europe and England and spending quiet time in the grand cathedrals. Deborah enjoyed casual and fine dining with Richard in Houston and in many other wonderful cities. She also enjoyed dancing and the two of them have had many videos of them laughing and dancing together at weddings.

Deborah and Richard committed to be active volunteers with many organizations. They have been members of St. Cecilia Catholic Church in Houston where they gratefully served as Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion and Co-coordinators of the Marriage Preparation for Couples Ministry. The church community has been very compassionate to them during Deborah’s brief illness. They both are members of the Order of Malta whose other members have provided wonderful support during these past seven weeks. As volunteers of the Order, they helped prepare and serve food to the homeless at Martha’s Kitchen on Tuesdays, helped distribute food to the poor from the Catholic Charities Food Distribution Center in Richmond, Texas and traveled to Lourdes, France to care for the ill making the pilgrimage to the holy site.

Deborah was an organizer and speaker for the retreat called Strength for the Journey which was dedicated to a close friend who was treated for many years with cancer. She journeyed to various states and to England to help present the program. In Houston, the retreat for years was at the Cenacle Retreat House with the Cenacle Sisters. After the Cenacle was destroyed in Hurricane Harvey, Deborah became active with the Emmaus Spirituality Center which is continuing the Spiritual Direction Institute begun by the Cenacle Sisters. She was strong, yet vulnerable, and spoke easily but she also knew when to listen.

Deborah is survived by her husband, her brother, Bill Barnes, and by her sister, Pam Freeman, and Pam’s husband, Mickey. Her legacy continues through her niece, nephews, their numerous children and Lynne and Tony Girard of Crowborough, England. She loved all of them, enjoyed sharing time with them and was excited to hear of their studies and adventures.

Deborah will be remembered for her kindness and willingness to provide emotional and spiritual support to others. Whether you knew her as Deborah, Deb or Debbie, she was a lover of relationships and cultivated and nourished them all her life. Her different friend groups included those from elementary school, high school and college. She and her friends talked often on the phone or by Zoom and would book an annual getaway for several days to laugh, to reminisce, to support each other and to up-date the relationships.

The light of Christ shined in and through Deborah. She was known for her loving presence which she made known through notes, calls, cards for many occasions, and gifts. She was a gift to many that was evident in her relationships with clients, family, friends and, often, with strangers. We were made by God for heaven and now she has returned to her heavenly home but too quickly for those of us left behind. As an aunt of Richard’s used to say, “We stay hopeful in God’s plan, even when it is not our plan”. She was at peace in her last few weeks as she was for most of her life. She was a model of a holy life well lived, a life that could be seen and not just read about in a holy book. She has completed her last pilgrimage and , from heaven, will help prepare the way for us. We hold her in our memories and in our hearts.

The funeral rosary and mass will be at St. Cecilia’s Catholic Church, 11720 Joan of Arc Drive, Houston, Texas 77024 on Friday, August 08, 2025.

The rosary will begin at 9:30 am and the funeral Mass will begin at 11:00 am.

A reception after will be in the community center of the church.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the two charities Deborah requested:

Make checks payable to:

Martha’s Kitchen

4301 Woodridge Parkway

Porter, Texas 77365

Make checks payable to:

Mamie George Community Center

P.O. Box 1743

Richmond, Texas 77406-0044

(memo: In memory of Deborah Krummel)