Deborah J. (Simanowitz) Frisbie went to be with the Lord on Saturday, February 15, 2025 at St. Luke’s Hospital of Kansas City, MO. Up until the end, Debbie maintained her thoughtfulness, compassion, kindness, welcoming spirit and love for her family and friends.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Richard B. Simanowitz and Dorothy. Her legacy lives on with her husband, Gregory and son, Jason (Bethany) and her pride and joy grandson, Maxwell. Also her brother Rick Simanowitz (Lisa); her nephew Nick Simanowitz, great nieces Luce and Xander; her niece Brandi Dennis (Edwin), great niece Nevaeh and great nephew Trey; her nephew Michael Smith(Molly); her best friend forever Karen Landers (Jim).
Debbie was born on July 18, 1956 in Leavenworth, KS and grew up in St. Joseph, MO. In high school, she started working with her father at Wausau Insurance, then went on to work at Heartland Regional Medical Center/Mosaic in Physical Medicine and Rehab where she retired in2021.Debbie went to high school at Bishop Leblond where she met the love of her life, Greg Frisbie and were married 7 years later in 1979. They were happily married for 45 years. In 1984 Jason was born and he has always been the light of her life. Her family was her whole life and everyone knew it. Nothing was off limits for her – for Halloween, Jason wanted to be a dog bone, so she sewed a Milkbone costume for him like it was no big deal. They always took roadtrips and Jason still remembers these with such fondness and appreciation. She never missed any of Jason’s school activities which was carried on through watching all of Maxwell’s activities. Debbie was front and center with her video camera. Debbie’s hobbies included scrapbooking and capturing both the big moments and the every day moments of her family’s lives. What a blessing it is to have all these photos now! She loved to cook for her family and made sure everyone had what they needed at any given moment. She also enjoyed planting flowers and tending to these all summer. Debbie treasured her friends and family. Everyone knew they were loved by her and just how much she loved them. She never hesitated to tell her people she loved them. She would light up when she got to tell someone about her family.
There wasn’t a holiday that went by without a card from Debbie and a lot of times it was created by her with special photos and a hand written message. Debbie’s grandson – Maxwell. Oh boy, her love for him was unmatched. Her joy. Her heart. She was a very present Grandma who would bake cakes, cookies and make elaborate breakfasts for Maxwell anytime he was over. He never went home without bags of marshmallows, snacks or art projects. As she was going through these last few months of fighting, Maxwell learned how strong his Grandma was and coined the term “Grandma strong” whenever he needs to be brave.
A Celebration of Debbie’s life will be held at Grace Calvary Chapel in St. Joseph, MO on Monday, February 24, 2025 at 10:30 am.
