Debbie Koval
December 16, 1956 – April 5, 2023
Debra Mae Martin (Debbie Koval) died on April 5, 2023 with her son Jim,
daughter Teri-Lyn and her two sisters surrounding her, after a sudden and
unexpected illness that left her unconscious.
Debbie was a devoted and loving mother to her two beautiful children, Teri-Lyn and Jimmy, who
tenderly held vigil by their mother’s bedside until she died.
Along with Teri-Lyn and Jimmy, she will be forever cherished by her mother Rose Koval;
her grandchildren Hailey, Jakson, and Avalyn; her brother Richard (Tee),
sister Deanna, brother Michael, sister Marilyn (Larry) and her many nieces
and nephews and others in the Koval and Martin families. She will also be
deeply missed by her many cousins and friends, including her besties
Sandy and Donica. She was predeceased by her father Donald Koval and
the father of her children, Rick Martin.
Debbie was born December 16, 1956 in Pickle Crow, Ontario, the second
child of Donald “Donnie” Koval and Elizabeth “Rose” Koval. She graduated
from Selkirk High School in Thunder Bay. In high school, she had many
interests and was referred to as “Little Deb” because she was only five feet
tall. Her height did not stop her from playing softball, volleyball and
basketball with great enthusiasm and success. In summers and after
graduation, she worked hard for Koval Brothers Ltd., loading freight and
delivering shipments around Pickle Lake. During her life she also worked at
the Pickle Lake post office, CIBC, Crolancia Public School as a secretary,
and Northern store as a grocery clerk. Debbie had a quiet and gentle way
of being present with others reminiscent of her father Donnie.
Debbie married Ricky Martin in 1977, and in January, 1978, they welcomed
their first child, Teri-Lyn. In July 1982 they welcomed their beautiful son Jim.
In the summer of 1987 Debbie was diagnosed with a tumor in her
brainstem after a sudden and severe headache. Despite the very grim
initial prognosis, Debbie persevered with shunt placement, many
appointments in far places, tests and biopsies along with eventual intense
radiation to her head. She survived to witness the growth of her children
into adulthood. She received much support especially from her mother
Rose and Auntie Bunny and Uncle Ted in Thunder Bay (while undergoing
treatment), from her (now) late Sister-in-law Bernice and from Al and Marj
Martin, her in-laws at the time. Through it all she remained positive and
curious and while in the hospital, she learned how to knit, creating sweaters
for each of her nieces and nephews. Later she took up other crafts
including ceramics and felting and then resumed work, ever changed
neurologically by the tumour and the treatment but so glad to be alive to be
a part of her children’s lives especially.
After living in Pickle Lake for most of her life, Debbie moved to Kelowna in
2004 to be with her son Jim and daughter Teri-Lyn, and her granddaughter
Hailey. Her grandson Jakson was born to Teri-Lyn in 2012, who became
an endless source of joy and delight. Debbie cared for Jakson with great
presence and love, creating an unbreakable bond with him through the
years she helped raise him. In 2020, Debbie’s youngest granddaughter,
Avalyn, was born to Jim (and her mother Amy), adding even more joy to
Debbie’s life. She loved to play go fish and have Ava tease her. Debbie
doted on her three beautiful grandchildren whenever she got the chance.
One of Debbie’s enduring legacies is the grace and peace she exuded
despite some of the effects from her tumor and treatment, which meant
some things took longer to do, she had some challenges with her balance,
things one normally takes for granted. She was not one to complain or
retreat from this challenge. Instead, she cherished each day, loved her
family, and enjoyed everything that she remained capable of doing
including playing a sharp game of crib, playing many word games with her
nieces and nephews and especially engaging fully in all of her creative
pursuits. Debbie loved life and treated each day and each person she
saw as expressions of the beauty and opportunity for joy that she had
learned to see in everything.
She continued her crafting when she moved to Mountainview Village in
2006. With the help of her favourite staff member, Sue, she baked, made
dish scrubbies, bread and butter pickles (growing the cucumbers in her
own garden), and peanut butter cups and was part of many craft shows.
In 2019 she was seen in the emergency department, during which time her
son Jim, helping her fill out paperwork, asked her whether she would like to
donate her organs in the event of her death. Debbie’s immediate reply was
“sure”.
In 2021, Debbie had an unexpected stroke in an (unrelated to her tumour)
area of her brainstem (pons), leaving her with significant deficits on her left
side, which required eventually that she move from her beloved
Mountainview home to Three Links Manor, a Long Term care facility, all
with the devoted attentiveness of her children.
In December 2022 Debbie was surprised for her 66th birthday by a visit
from her mother Rose and brother Michael. While Deanna played the
Ukulele over a Zoom, family all gathered from far and wide to sing Happy
Birthday for her “clickety click” milestone.
In March 2023, Debbie enjoyed a much anticipated visit from her sister
Deanna. There were many days of visiting and fun, staying at her son
Jim’s and playing with her granddaughter Ava. Mere hours after returning
to her room at Three Links, Debbie suddenly felt unwell and became
unconscious after sustaining a brainstem bleed. Her last moments with
Deanna, Jim and Ava included the full enjoyment of a triple gelato at an
Italian restaurant.
In the hours that followed in the Kelowna ICU on a
ventilator, her wishes suddenly became front and center as it was clear she
would not survive such a catastrophic medical event and just as suddenly,
the transplant teams were mobilizing, and three (we imagine) grateful
people were being notified of the precious gifting of lungs and kidneys from
Debbie.
Debbie’s family wishes to extend deep thanks to Dr. Sarbit for being such a
sensitive and supportive family doctor over all her years in Kelowna, to
Arden and David who helped Debbie with errands and transportation to
doctor’s appointments, to the staff at Mountainview for creating a fun
environment in which Debbie thrived and to the staff at Three Links Manor
for accommodating Debbie’s transition into Long Term Care. We also
thank Erika for supporting Debbie through the ABI program with IHA, Erika
and Danielle from the Team at Stride who continued to support Debbie’s
physiotherapy goals and Michelle who was assisting Debbie with various
healing modalities. A huge thank you also to the staff in the ICU at KGH for
creating such a beautiful and comforting environment for Debbie and her
family during her last days. A final and deeply heartfelt thanks is extended
to Marilynne Fine of Kelowna, who threw her arms and heart and home
open wide to all of us with such love and care.
For those interested in contributing to a cause in Debbie’s memory, the
Kelowna Cycling Coalition www.kelownacycling.org will gratefully receive a
donation via etransfer at info@kelownacycling.org or on their website
homepage with the donation link. If it is possible to send an email to
info@kelownacycling.org indicating to them that you have made a donation
in Debbie’s memory that would be an added bonus, earmarking the
donation to “CWAK” (Cycling with Age Kelowna) even better. Alternatively
you could contribute to the Breakfast or Sports Program at Crolancia Public
School in Pickle Lake by sending a cheque to: Crolancia Public School, 1
Trudel St., Box 310, Pickle Lake, Ontario, POV 3A0 attention Principal, Ms.
Kayla Blakney earmarking either of these programs. Tax receipts can be
requested.
A Celebration of Debbie’s life will be held at the Pickle Lake Community
Centre on Saturday, May 13th at 2 pm. We are hoping to livestream this if
we can get the technology together. If wishing the link, please send an
email to: mkoval@mac.com (Marilyn Koval).
