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DEBORAH LEVINE RUBENSTEIN, age 78, my Debby, my wife of 57 years, died August 31st, having suffered most if not all the complications of COVID. Our first date was August 20, 1964, and in a few short months we both knew we wanted to spend the rest of our lives together. We were married June 20th, 1965. We were blessed with three wonderful children, and then their children, in a loving home the center of which was Debby. All the best things in my life stemmed from Debby. All the love and beauty in our home stemmed from Debby.
Debby was born and raised in Raleigh, North Carolina where she attended Myrtle Underwood elementary school, Needham Broughton High School, St Mary’s Jr College and graduated from the Univeristy of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. She was a North Carolina Debutante and a member of the Kappa Kappa Gamma Sorority. She graduated with a degree in Sociology.
Early in their marriage, while Carl finished his medical training they lived in Durham, NC. The Navy took them to Bethesda, MD and Alverstoke, England. After several more years in Durham, they moved to Oklahoma City where they raised their three kids and made a community of friends that became family.
Through her life, Debby was an active member of: Faculty Wives of the OUHSC; Weeders & Seeders Garden club. She served on the boards of Westminster Day School for 10 years and Temple B’nai Israel for 6. She also was a past president of the Temple sisterhood.
Debby was a passionate and artful gardner and could be found weeding in her flower beds up until the month before she died. She loved the way colors and textures worked together and had a gift for making everything around her look beautiful.
In her 50’s Debby started working at the Learning Tree toystore in Oklahoma City, where she spent many years and made many friends. She then became the Manager/Buyer for Sofia & Alexander’s children’s clothing store.
Debby is survived by her husband Carl, her daughter Anna Rubenstein Paris (Steven) of Portland, Oregon, daughter Sarah Rubenstein (Simone Sassolini) of Florence, Italy and son David Rubenstein (Rachael) of San Antonio, Texas. She is survived by her five grandchildren -Lawren and Leah Paris, Joseph and Olimpia Sassolini, and Samuel Rubenstein. She is also survived by her sister Sarah Levine Weisman (Matthew) of Oakland, California and many loving and loved nieces, nephews, grand-nieces/nephews.
A memorial service will be held on Friday, September 9th at Temple B’nai Israel at 10:30am (masks are appreciated). The service can also be followed in live stream for those who prefer to participate remotely. https://thetempleokc.shulcloud.com/live-stream-video.html
In lieu of flowers, donations can me made to Temple B’nai Israel, Planned Parenthood or other charity of your choice.
https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/oklahoma-city-ok/deborah-rubenstein-10910408
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Mary Cannon (Rhodes)
Lovely memories of Debby from our shared time at Myrtle Underwood Elementary School through our Broughton years, what seemed like a novel, wonderful adventure to go to her family's store on Fayetteville Street, making our debut together. Carl captured the essence of Debbie which I remember--smart, gentle, kind with an infectious smile. I regret not staying in touch over the years after college--my loss. Thank you for sharing such a beautiful tribute to her with us all. Fondly, Mary Cannon Rhodes
John Streb
I have fond memories of Debbie. We dated a coupleof times in high school, but Mr. Levine put an end to that because a Catholic boy couln't get serious about a Jewish girl.
Jimmy Maynard
My memories of Debbiie are of a sweet, smart, and smiling girl who was a delight to be around.
Charles Styron
As I think about it, I realize that I had a most unusual relationship with Debbie. We were friendly in High School but didn’t really know each other very well. I never did know her well, but I came to know more “about her” well into my adult life than I had ever known when we were in High School. This happened because, rather late in life, my mother started working for her mother, Leah, as a hostess at the famous Upstairs Restaurant near Capitol Square on South Wilmington Street (a very popular place for lunch). This was the perfect job for my mother because she knew just about everybody and loved to talk. Leah told her, in fact, after hiring her on the spot one day, that being friendly was all she had to do. My mother asked when she should start; Leah handed her a stack of menus and said, “Now.” Case Closed. My mother worked at The Upstairs for a number of years and absolutely loved it. One of the side benefits of the job was that it helped her keep up with a great deal of what was going on in town. And because she talked with Leah just about every day, she got regular news about Debbie. And . . . well . . . of course, she passed this news along to me—regularly—and in great detail! After a while, in fact, I even began to ask about Debbie. I only wish I could remember more of what my mother said.
HAIL DEBORAH LEVINE RUBENSTEIN HAIL
Anne Paschall (Landin)
I knew Debbie from back when we both went to Myrtle Underwood. I have one particular outstanding memory of her when I was at her house one time for supper during Hanukkah. I didn't know much about Hanukkah before that but I thoroughly enjoyed her family's explanation about all of it and I went home wishing we celebrated Hanukkah too. RIP Debbie.