Debby Carey

Debby Carey passed away one day short of her 73rd birthday, on July 16, 2026.

Memorial services will be at 2:00 PM, Friday, July 24, 2026, in Boxwell Brothers Ivy Chapel, 2800 Paramount Blvd.

She was born to Carollee and Gordon Carey on July 17, 1953. Debby and her sister Pam lost their mother at an early age and when their father married Betty Louise, they gained brothers Eddy and Mike Sherrer. From the stories I’ve heard, it sounds like they all had a feral-yet-mild upbringing that involved curfew when the street lights came on, crazy friends that became life-long friends and something about an ice cream machine they charged the whole neighborhood for.

Evidently, Debby was the wild one out of the bunch. She worked hard to graduate at 16 and moved out to discover the world. At the ripe ol’ age of 21, she had her daughter April, whom she loved fiercely. When April was 2 years old, Debby met the love of her life, Lightnin McDuff. The three of them were an amazing team from the get-go and Debby and Lightnin finally married on August 20, 1992.

Debby’s real passion was for art and was talented in every medium she tried. She loved creating art! She was good at everything she touched- stained glass, watercolors, pottery, chalk painting and was learning to silversmith. Lightnin was also an artist, who specialized in metal sculpting out of booty, loot and plunder (aka discarded). His most recognized sculpture is Ozymandias, which he was commissioned for in 1994. Debby and Lightnin opened their own art gallery, Carey McDuff Contemporary Art, in the mid-90s.

For her day job, Debby worked in the non-profit field for the first half her career before joining Amarillo College as a Student Advisor, where she retired from in 2016.

Following her retirement, Debby and her other half Lightnin were able to enjoy a few years of scootin’ and hollerin’ about town before his death on September 13, 2018. His soul never left her heart so when she passed on July 16th, they were joined together again for all eternity.

April didn’t have her mom’s green thumb and though she followed her advice, she usually killed most of what her mom suggested to plant. April now buys potted plants so that when they die, she can just buy new ones. Therefore, she respectfully requests that in lieu of flowers and plants, donations be made to the Wildcat Bluff Nature Center, the Wild West Wildlife Rehabilitation Center and/or the Amarillo S.P.C.A.

For anyone who’s curious, April and her husband Brent West have taken in her mom’s furbabies, Bella and Pogo. April would like to extend a special thank you to her uncle Mike and her mom’s dear, dear friend JoBeth for their care, compassion and immense patience with her mother’s own kind of crazy.