Debra J. Boylan

Debra Jean Boylan died on June 8, 2024 at the age of 72 years due to cardiogenic and septic shock, following a decline in her heart health. She was born in Iowa City, Iowa to parents Betty Jean (Poore) and Richard Kirk Boylan, and lived most of her life in the Des Moines area. She attended North High School, graduating in 1969 and marrying her first husband Don Sneddon later that same year. Their son Donnie was born in 1973. They later divorced and she remarried, with her 2nd marriage producing her daughter Brianne in 1979. She divorced, remarried, and divorced a third time, whereupon she determined that she preferred sharing her home with dogs to men. Over the years, she was proud fur Mama to Ebony, Sammy, T.J., Jessie, Lily, and Sophie.

Deb worked for many years as a clerk at Case Power & Equipment in Ankeny. Then she was offered a job as a U.S. Postal Service letter carrier in 1994. For more than 20 years she carried mail for the Beaverdale Post Office, where she loved interacting with customers on her route.

She enjoyed shopping with her sister, traveling and going to music concerts with friends, seeing plays and musicals at the Civic Center, and visiting her grandchildren in Maui and Washington, D.C. Her sense of humor will be missed.

She is survived by her sister Jill Coons, her son Donnie Sneddon and his daughters Kayla Draper, Jerzie Sneddon, and Phoenyx Sneddon, her daughter Brianne Boylan (married to Alex Barnes) and their son Dmitri Barnes, as well as her beloved Maltese, Sophie. She is preceded in death by her parents and brother Tim Boylan.

A celebration of life will be held July 6, 2024 at 1pm at Epworth United Methodist Church, 412 Euclid Ave, Des Moines, IA, 50313. Information on how to livestream the service will be posted to Deb’s Facebook account. Contributions in Deb’s memory may be made to the Animal Rescue League of Iowa, 5452 NE 22nd Street, Des Moines, IA, 50313, 

https://www.ARL-Iowa.org/Donate