Debra "Deb" Sue (Randall) Barnett

Click here to view Deb's Liturgical Wake Service.

Click here to view Deb's Mass of Christian burial.

Debra “Deb” Sue (Randall) Barnett, 63, of Aberdeen, passed away Saturday, August 11, 2018, at Avera Mother Joseph Manor in Aberdeen, SD, following an extended battle with cancer.

Mass of Christian burial will be 11:00 a.m., Thursday, August 16, 2018, at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, 409 3rd Avenue SE, Aberdeen, with Father Mark Lichter as celebrant.

Burial will take place at Sacred Heart Cemetery.

Schriver’s Memorial Mortuary and Crematory, 414 5th Avenue NW, Aberdeen, is in charge of arrangements.  Friends may sign Deb’s online guestbook and also view her service via the live stream service link at www.schriversmemorial.com.

Visitation will be 5-7 p.m., Wednesday, at Sacred Heart Catholic Church Fellowship Hall.  A liturgical wake service will follow at 7:00 p.m. at Sacred Heart Catholic Church.  Visitation continues one hour before Mass at the church on Thursday.  No visitation will take place at the mortuary.

In lieu of flowers, Deb’s family prefers memorials to the Aberdeen Catholic Foundation-Roncalli Student Tuition Assistance Fund, 202 South Main St., Suite 314, Aberdeen, SD 57401.

Debra Sue Randall was born February 11, 1955, to Earl and Arlene (Simon) Randall in Brookings, SD.  She attended Sacred Heart Parochial School and Roncalli High School through her Junior year.  Deb then moved with her family to Sioux Falls and graduated from O’Gormon High School with the Class of 1973.  Following high school graduation, Deb furthered her education at South Dakota State University in Brookings and graduated in 1978 with a degree in Public Recreation.  She was the first female collegiate swimmer on the SDSU Swim Team and participated as an excellent varsity swimmer throughout her college career.

Deb married her high school and college sweetheart, Joe Barnett, on April 8, 1978 in Brookings.  Deb and Joe lived in Vermillion, SD while Joe attended the University of South Dakota Law School.  Following Joe’s graduation, Deb and Joe returned to their hometown of Aberdeen in the summer of 1981.  The couple was blessed with four wonderful children:  Steve, Eric, Megan, and Joey.  When the children were young, Deb was a stay-at-home mom, in full charge of the household duties and many birthday parties, trips to the park, organizing family activities, and movie nights at Melgaard Park.  She also made sure her tennis players got to all their summer matches on time.  As the children got older, Deb took on additional tasks including helping the kids with their newspaper routes and baking and delivering excellent homemade cookies to RG’s Restaurant, where they would be gone a short time after delivery.  For a time, Deb worked early weekend mornings at the Aberdeen American News as a phone dispatcher, assisting with deliveries and directing the route drivers.  Later she worked as one of the lunch ladies at Roncalli High School until May of 1998.  In 1999, Deb began work as a Chaplain at St. Luke’s Hospital.  She remained there until 2001, when she became a member of the Pastoral Care Department at Mother Joseph Manor Nursing Home (now Avera Mother Joseph Manor Retirement Community).  Deb absolutely shined at this position.  Her strong faith, excellent communication skills, and compassion guided many residents and their families in difficult times of declining health and provided spiritual encouragement and peace to family members who lost loved ones.  She was frequently asked to speak at various churches and to congregations of all faiths, which she readily accepted.  During her final days at Avera Mother Joseph Manor, Deb remarked frequently “what a privilege it is to be taken care of by such excellent care givers” who also were her many friends, co-workers, and residents. Click here to view her Youtube video entitled Deb’s Testimony: Beyond The Flame 

Blessed to have shared Deb’s life are her husband of 40 years, Joe Barnett of Aberdeen; her four children:  Steve (Nicole) Barnett of Pierre, SD, and Eric Barnett, Megan (Dan) Ogren and Joey Barnett, all of Aberdeen; eight beautiful grandchildren:  Maria Barnett (13), Isaac Ogren (4), Julia Ogren (2), Kathy Sue Ogren (7 months), Emma Barnett (7), Henry Barnett (5), William Barnett (3) and Lily Barnett (2); her parents, Earl and Arlene Randall of Aberdeen; her sister, Vicki (Jim) Bruse of Sioux Falls; her brother, Dana (Becky) Randall of Aberdeen; and five nieces and nephews:  Erin (Rob) Mitzel of Sioux Falls, SD, Lindsay (Mario) Gourde of Aberdeen, and Jarod Bruse, Amanda Randall, and Kaitlyn Randall, all of Sioux Falls.

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