Deb Meginness

Mass of Christian Burial for Debra Meginness, 70, of Spearfish formerly of Isabel will be at 10:30 AM, MT, Saturday, January 17, 2026, at the Isabel Community Center. Burial will be at Hillview Cemetery under the direction of Kesling Funeral Home of Mobridge. Visitation will start at 6 PM Friday with a prayer service at 7 PM at the community center. Deb peacefully passed away on Monday, January 12, 2026, in her home surrounded by family.

Debra Dee Bickel was born on June 30th, 1955, to Harry and Shirley Bickel. She spent her early years on the family ranch north of Firesteel. She was a true ranch kid, playing in the dirt, working with her brothers Jack and Keith, and taking care of her many cats. She thoroughly enjoyed living in the same yard as her grandparents, often spending hours playing at their house. Her stories were full of accounts of her time at Fitzgerald Country School and the lifelong friends she made there.

She attended high school in Timber Lake, graduating in 1973. After high school she enrolled at Concordia college in Moorhead, Minnesota. As was her habit, she forged friendships at Concordia that endured throughout her life. At Concordia, Deb was heavily involved in the theater department, both acting in plays and working behind the scenes. She graduated from Concordia in 1977. After college she briefly attended mime school in Wisconsin (she'd kill us for putting that in the paper).

In 1979, Deb married KC Peters, whom she lost to cancer in 1982. She married John C. Meginness in 1992, to whom she remained married to until his death in 2023. She welcomed three children, Joy Elizabeth, Sabra Ellen, and much, much later, Sean Michael. Deb moved to the ranch south of Firesteel after marrying John. She settled into a life of teaching, gardening, and raising three truly wonderful children (we wrote this, and we have decided that we are not biased).

Deb spent nearly three decades as a teacher, and it was clearly her passion. Generations of students learned that she was the go-to person for everything from snacks to first-aid supplies to an overall safe space to just be in her presence. She was generous with both her time and her talents. She loved her time as a teacher, first in Isabel, then Timber Lake. Alongside teaching, she nurtured her other passions, such as crafting, gardening, and photography. She loved spending time in her craft room, her garden, and in nature.

She will be remembered by those nearest her for unwavering kindness, humor, and quiet strength. After her cancer diagnosis, she refused to complain, even when the rest of us certainly were. Those furthest from her include people in Australia and New Zealand (that's a geography joke, we'll be here all week).

Deb spent the last months of her life at her home in Spearfish, South Dakota, a place she had cherished for many years. She passed away peacefully, surrounded by her loved ones, including her favorite child and the other kid too (for legal purposes that's a joke) (that's the last time we use parentheses to explain a joke, we promise).

There are many nouns that can be applied to Debra Meginness: Mother, daughter, grandmother, aunt, sister, wife, teacher, friend. In every case, she was the best anyone could have asked for. We will miss her dearly.

She is survived by her daughter Sabra Sonsalla and her husband Eric, son Sean Meginness and his wife Mara, and her son-in-law Grant Austin; her grandchildren Gabe Austin, and Jacob, Tenley, Stella, and Baker Sonsalla; and her brothers Jack and Keith Bickel.

Deb was preceded in death by her parents Harry and Shirley Bickel, her in-laws John and Alice Meginness, her daughter Joy Austin, and her husband John C.

She was preceded in death and survived by innumerable family members and friends.

We would like to give a special thank you to Cathy Boehler, Vicky Meginness, and Beth Schweitzer. Without their help in caring for Deb, we would have been lost

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