Daughter of Kenneth Scherkoske and Sharon Scherkoske (nee Napierala, deceased), Deborah is survived by her daughter Sophie, husband Bill Cope, sister Melissa (Olivia) and brother Greg (Margaret).
Deborah was born in Toledo, Ohio and, with her father’s career as an academic, moved between Pennsylvania, Kentucky and Arizona before settling and spending much of her childhood in Buffalo, NY.
She was academically serious yet popular with friends and enjoyed socializing and many student committees. From an early age she showed an eye for fashion and detail, and carried herself with poise and grace.
Deborah graduated from Hamilton College in 1988 and undertook graduate studies at Cornell University where she earned a Masters degree in Historic Preservation. Her love of design and architecture was evident in her home, her hobbies and her work in Architectural Preservation and Cultural Conservation. Her career took her to Maryland and later Pennsylvania as she worked in both the private and public sectors. She was revered by colleagues as the “infrastructure queen”. It was a source of pride that due to her work, many architecturally and culturally important buildings still stand.
Friends and family will fondly remember ‘Deb’ at her best: as a woman of taste, as an engaging conversationalist with a keen intellect and a sharp eye for human foibles. Deb loved to laugh and could be devastatingly funny. Her beloved daughter Sophie inherited these traits, and it was a source of tremendous pride (and occasional grief) when Sophie proved herself a formidable understudy. She was a loving daughter and enjoyed being able to visit with her father.
Deb loved cooking, home decorating, gardening and treasured her memories of family vacations spent in Maine with Bill and Sophie. She loved music, good food and would happily wile away hours preparing a newly discovered recipe. In later years Deb became a keen observer of politics and found many things that needed to be put right including advocacy for women’s reproductive rights and gender equality. She was delighted to see a woman elected as Vice President.
Her family grieves her life cut short and will miss her terribly.
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