Deborah Champion Cousins

A service in memory of Deborah Champion Cousins of Columbia will be held at Redeemer Lutheran Church on Wednesday, April 2, 2025, at 1:00 p.m.  The Reverend Gary Loadholdt will officiate.  The family will greet friends at a reception in the Fellowship Hall following the service.

Deborah passed away on Sunday, March 16, 2025.  She was born in Raleigh, North Carolina, on September 2, 1968, to Gaither (Buddy) A. Champion, Jr., and Carolyn Wheeler Champion.

She attended Anderson College in Anderson, SC.  She was employed by the South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles in Columbia and Ladson, SC.

Deborah was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in her early twenties and constantly dealt with major health issues throughout her life; but, through her resilience she fought with each one with her faith, courage, and strength.

Deborah was a fun-loving, gregarious, and caring individual. She never met a stranger; and everywhere she went, she was the entertainer of the occasion. In her senior year in high school, she was selected the class superlative “Class Clown.” She loved to talk and was a superb storyteller and each story was based totally on the “actual facts.” Her family always told her “Don’t go and tell all the family secrets.”

In 2020, Deborah was reunited with a lost love from her youth, Luther Cousins.  They fell in love again and married.  Those years were the happiest years of her life.

Deborah was beautiful in body and spirit.  She loved to sing and had an amazing voice and could sing every word of many, many songs.  She was an excellent writer and wrote beautiful poems.  She will be missed by so many relatives and friends and will live forever in our hearts.

Deborah is survived by her loving husband, Luther Cousins; mother, Carolyn Champion; brother, Gaither (Robbie) Allen Champion, III, (Terri), and niece Kristina Champion; and nephew, Dylan Champion.  She is also survived by stepchildren, Chris, Katie, and Maggie Cousins; and step-grandchildren, Winston and Emily.  She was preceded in death by her father, Gaither (Buddy) Allen Champion, Jr.

Memories may be made to Redeemer Lutheran Church, 525 St. Andrews Road, Columbia, SC 29210.