Deborah Ann Ellingboe

Deborah (Debbie) Ann Ellingboe, 56, recently of Scottsdale, AZ and formerly of Wayzata, MN, passed away peacefully in the arms of her beloved husband, Don, on August 5, 2024.
Debbie was joyfully born on March 15, 1968 in Eugene, OR to Kay and Richard Ellingboe after first kicking her twin brother, Mike, out of the womb. Debbie was notably special from the beginning and was a curious and spirited little girl. She disliked being alone in her crib and would jump up and down to bounce it nearer to her brother's crib so she could join him in the mornings. She loved to run around the house in her short little dresses and cowboy boots while wrecking all the creations that her brother had meticulously constructed, all while wildly giggling.
It will come as no surprise to those who knew Debbie that she was an intelligent, curious, and gifted student throughout her nearly 20 years of schooling. She was co-valedictorian of her 1986 Columbia High School (Troutdale, OR) graduating class, graduated magna cum laude in 1990 from Boston University after majoring in Journalism, and then went on to graduate magna cum laude from the University of Minnesota Law School in 1995, where she was editor-in-chief of the Minnesota Law Review.
Debbie continued achieving during her long legal career. After an incredibly fulfilling Federal Court Clerkship with the Honorable James M. Rosenbaum, Debbie joined Faegre Drinker where she practiced as a business and commercial litigator her entire career. She was a wildly successful litigator and trial lawyer, achieving the highest honor bestowed upon trial lawyers when she was inducted as a Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers. While she loved trial work, her passion in more recent years was helping her beloved Faegre Drinker colleagues as Practice Group Leader of the Business Litigation Group from 2016 through her day of passing. Debbie admired and cared for all 200-plus of her fellow Faegre lawyers in her group, taking whatever time needed to help further careers, counsel in life, and add a bit of daily humor to what can be a tough career.
While Debbie loved her career and helping others inside and outside of Faegre, Debbie confirmed many times over that her most satisfying life moment was meeting husband Don in 2000. Debbie met Don on a true blind date, arranged by friends (likely as a joke), and only after Don arrived 45 minutes late. Despite his late arrival, it was instant love. Their first date ended after the restaurant kicked Debbie and Don out shortly before midnight, claiming that the two of them had been the only people in the restaurant for at least two hours. Debbie and Don were inseparable from that point forward, marrying on September 15, 2002 in Monterrey, CA and embarking on an incredible honeymoon in Northern California and Bora Bora. Debbie built an amazing life with Don, living in Eagan, MN, owning a lake home in Hayward, WI, moving to a beautiful home on Lake Minnetonka in Wayzata, MN and then eventually moving to her current home in Scottsdale, AZ. She enthusiastically pursued many hobbies, most all with Don at her side, including hiking, cooking with Don, championing Minnesota State Fair competitive baking, lake life, traveling to Europe, road tripping, exploring national parks, fishing, voraciously reading, winning at poker, working out, driving fast cars (but only with manual transmissions), dancing with Don, spending time with her spoiled kitty, Ella, and helping her many friends and neighbors. She pursued these interests throughout the last four years while battling cancer, and she never allowed the diagnosis or treatments to hold her back from actively living life to the fullest, enjoying the company of family and her many friends, and loving Don with all her will.
Debbie is survived by husband, Don Heeman, father, Richard (Deb) of Cathedral City, CA, brother, Mike of Long Beach, CA, brother, Steve (Tracie) of Vancouver, WA, and nephews, Austin and Collin of CA. Debbie was preceded in death by her mother, Kay Nelson. Debbie will be best remembered for touching the lives of everyone around her, for bringing calmness and happiness with her beautiful blue eyes and charming smile, and for showering love and joy to husband Don from the moment they met.
A Memorial Service celebrating Debbie will be held at Mount Olivet Lutheran Church in Minneapolis (5025 Knox Ave. S.) on Wednesday, August 21st at 1:00 pm with a visitation one hour before the service. For those in Arizona or the West Coast not able to travel to the Minnesota service, there will be a Celebration of Debbie on Saturday, November 9th from 5:30-7:30 pm at Desert Mountain's Outlaw restaurant. Donations can be made in honor of Debbie to The Lewin Fund, an organization leading the fight against women's cancer.