Deborah Ann Willoughby of Oak Bluffs passed away peacefully at home on March 11, 2022, surrounded by her loved ones. She was the wife of Edmund Willoughby.
Deb was born on June 20, 1954, to George King Sr. and Dorothea King. She grew up and lived all of her life on Martha’s Vineyard, where she graduated from Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School in the class of 1972. She then went on to earn her associate’s degree in computer science. She married Edmund Willoughby on April 19, 1980, and began living her life to the fullest.
Deb worked many jobs on Martha’s Vineyard, from waitressing to bookkeeping. Her most prominent jobs were working in the tax collector’s offices for the towns of Oak Bluffs and Edgartown.
As a teenager, Deb tried her hand at raising goats for show. They added to her parent’s menagerie of animals. It was all going well, until she realized she was allergic to them.
Deb loved to knit and crochet, and always had a work in progress, from afghans to sweaters to baby outfits. If you were ever in need of anything homemade, she either already had it made or would happily make it for you.
Every year for their wedding anniversary, Deb and Ed would take a cruise somewhere. She lived for and enjoyed these cruises immensely. As soon as they arrived home from one, she was already planning the next. They started taking their granddaughter, Keira, along with them when she was young. Deb was devastated when the COVID pandemic began. She put her cruise travels on hold, but started a list of places she still wished to visit.
Deborah is survived by her loving husband Edmund Willoughby, son Edmund Willoughby II, and granddaughter Keira Willoughby, all of Oak Bluffs; sister Theresa King of Santa Ana, Calif.; brothers Grafton King of Oak Bluffs, and Robert King of Monson; along with numerous aunts, uncles, cousins, and many friends. In addition to her parents, she was predeceased by 18 days by her eldest brother, George King Jr., and by her daughter Cheranne Lynn Willoughby.
Deborah’s funeral service was held on March 19, 2022, and she was laid to rest at the New Westside Cemetery in Edgartown.
For online tributes and more information, please visit chapmanfuneral.com.
