Debra Ann (Baker) Speegle

March 18, 1954 — Dec. 4, 2012

Debra Ann (Baker) Speegle, 58, of Ione, Calif., passed away unexpectedly on Dec. 4, 2012, of congestive heart failure at St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Stockton, Calif. She was born in Hayward, Calif., on March 18, 1954, to William Earl Baker and Helen Marie (Randall) Baker. She attended grade schools in Placerville and Davis, Calif. She graduated from El Dorado Union High School in Placerville in 1972. She was a member of Rainbow Girls and Eastern Star. She worked as a dental assistant, Certified Nurses Aid and In Home Support Service Worker.

Debra met and later married Arthur G. (Sandy) Speegle Jr. of Placerville, Calif. Her marriage took place at the Luthern church in Placerville on Dec. 29, 1979. Her husband served in the U.S. Navy and she enjoyed traveling with him to his duty stations in San Diego, Guam, Long Beach, Lemoore and Stockton, Calif. She especially enjoyed the four years they spent on the island of Guam in the western Pacific. Her husband retired and they settled in Ione.

Debra also liked the outdoors, fishing, camping, gold panning and just plain enjoying nature and the earth’s beauty. She, along with her husband, was a member of the Mother Lode Goldhounds, Gold Prospectors Association of America and the Lost Dutchman’s Mining Association. She participated in the California State gold panning championships held in Foresthill, Calif., each year. She particularly enjoyed the camaraderie of the members of the gold prospecting club members. She was also fond of animals, often stopping along side the road to take pictures of horses, cattle and sheep. Newborn animals were her favorite. She especially enjoyed her cat, Smokey, who preceded her in death, and her current cat, Pumpkin.

Debra was preceded ind death by her parents, William Earl Baker and Helen Marie (Randall) Baker. She was a loving wife, mother, sister, grandmother and great grandmother. She is survived by her loving husband, Arthur G .(Sandy) Speegle Jr. of Placerville and Ione; son, Timothy Speegle and wife, Jennifer of Potosi, Mo.; daughter, Crystal (Speegle) Mendoza and husband, James of Manteca, Calif.; grandchildren, Shelby and Jennifer Speegle of Citrus Heights, Calif., Timothy Speegle II of Potosi and Ava Hersman of Manteca; brother, Kenneth Baker and wife, Marion of Fraser Lake, British Columbia, Canada; sisters, Judith (Baker) Keener of Holtville, Calif., and Sandra (Baker) Moore and husband, Craig of Placentia, Calif.; step-children, Christopher Speegle and wife, Jennifer of Brookings, Ore., and Melissa (Speegle) Smith and boyfriend, Anthony Salazar of Fair Oaks, Calif.; step-grandchildren, Trevor and Traci Speegle of Del Paso Heights, Calif., Christen Speegle of Sacramento, Calif., Destiny Smith of Oconomowoc, Wisc., and Taylor Smith of Fair Oaks; step-great-grandchildren, Zeona Rae Speegle of Sacramento and Kaden James Todd Smith of Oconomowoc. She will also be missed and remembered by longtime school friends, including Judy (Brosi) Chrzanowski, Amy (Vassar) Chaudhry, Anita Whitmore and Marsha Young.

Inurnment will be in the Garden of Valor section of the Sunset View Cemetery in Jackson, Calif. No formal services are planned. There will be a celebration of life held on Feb. 2, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., at the El Dorado Community Hall, 6139 Pleasant Valley Road in El Dorado, Calif. Contact Art Speegle at 209-418-5493 (cell) or 209-763-5843 for further information. Donations may be made in Debra’s memory to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation online at jdrfnorcal.org or by mailing at JDRF Norcal, 1333 Howe Ave., Suite 113, Sacramento, CA 95825.