Deborah Sharifa Buckley

Deborah Sharifa Buckley, of Lakewood, was a spiritual seeker whose path took her to Judaism, Islamic Sufism and the Japanese healing system called Reiki.

Ms. Buckley, 49, a chiropractor, died June 10 after an 18-year battle with ovarian cancer.

She fought that battle using alternative healing practices, a rigorous organic diet and a regimen of herbal medications that involved taking as many as 160 pills a day.

"Her death certificate says she died of ovarian cancer, but it's not as if she failed," said Khadim Chistic, of Portland, Ore., a fellow Sufi and Buckley's friend for more than 25 years.

"She lived those 18 years with such grace and such beauty and such wisdom. And along the way she taught so many people about healing, using every opportunity to pass along what she learned to others."

Only 23 percent of those diagnosed with advanced ovarian cancer survive five years, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

Ms. Buckley was a founder of Boulder's Chevra Kadisha , an organization of volunteers who prepare bodies for burial under strict Jewish standards.

"She understood the importance of ritual in moving the soul into the next life," said Chistic. "That was part of her work - to be there with people when they were preparing to cross over."

Ms. Buckley was born a Catholic in Boston on Dec. 29, 1954, and earned her bachelor's degree at Marymount College in Tarrytown, N.Y. One of her first jobs was with a jewelry importing company in Manhattan, which brought her into contact with Orthodox Jews who worked in the diamond district.

"That job showed her a new world," said her husband, Tom Jatko.

She moved to Portland to attend Western State Chiropractic College, and graduated in 1983.

It was in Portland that she converted to Judaism and was introduced to Sufism. Jatko met her on a business trip from Denver to Portland. They married June 26, 1993, and she returned with him to live in Colorado.

"When she was with you, she was absolutely there," said Carolyn Steele, of Denver, who met Ms. Buckley at a gathering held by the Jewish Renewal Movement in Fort Collins in 1995. "No matter what you were talking about, she really heard what was being said and responded to it. And she only talked about the good in people."

She loved the mountains, and was an avid outdoorswoman when she was well. When she was ill, Jatko said, he drove her to Mount Falcon Park in Jefferson County, opened the car's windows, and she listened to the birds.

She was a member of the Kohelet Jewish congregation and attended the open house for its new building only five days before she died. Rabbi Tirzah Firestone, of Boulder, officiated at services at Golden Hill Cemetery on June 13.

A Sufi service was held in Denver June 23, and another service will be held in Portland July 25.

She is survived by her husband; her mother, Therese Schotter of Mount Pocono; sisters, Maura Schotter of Mount Pocono and Patricia Tucker of Martinez, Calif.; a brother, Christopher Buckley of El Dorado Hills, Calif.; stepdaughters, Deborah Jean Pezzutti of Salt Lake City and Monica Lynn Gamache of Aurora; stepgrandchildren, Danielle Jatko of Aurora and Abraham Jacob Pezzutti of Salt Lake City; and nephew, Robin Schotter, niece, Jessica Schotter, and grandnephew, Jeremiah Schotter, all of Mount Pocono.

Memorial contributions can be made to Jewish Family Service, 3201 S. Tamarac Drive, Denver, CO 80231, or to Maria Droste Services of Colorado, 1355 S. Colorado Blvd., Denver, CO 80222.