Deanna Geary

Deanna Geary, 55, died April 3, 2017 after a valiant seven-year battle with bile duct cancer. She was born July 29, 1961 in Chicago, IL. She loved food, the outdoors, and a good poop joke. She was a believer in justice and a committed Democrat. Above all, she was fiercely independent. She raised her two children single-handedly, frequently working 2 or 3 jobs at once and going months without a single day off. She used to repair her shoes with duct tape so her children could have new ones. She was the adult other kids turned to when they needed to talk, because she was honest and accepted them for who they were. She didn’t believe in complaining, even when it came to cancer.

She joked with the anesthesiologist before she got wheeled into surgery, every single time. She was the first woman to graduate with a certification in structural welding in the state of Alaska. In 1998 she drove herself and her two children up the Alcan from Illinois to Alaska with only a giant stuffed gorilla dressed as a man for assistance. In the 7 years after her diagnosis, she was able to see both her children graduate from college, visit Italy, Ireland, Germany, Hawaii, the great Smokey Mountains, New Orleans, Mexico, Belize, Honduras, and explore her love of photography by taking many beautiful photos of the American West.

She is survived by her children Maria and Joshua and her granddogs Bert and Sadie. She will be loved and missed forever.