Deborah Ann Yurtkuran

Deborah Ann “Debbie” Yurtkuran, 72, passed away on November 22, 2025 in Diamondhead, Mississippi, after a brief and fiercely fought battle with esophageal cancer. She left this world surrounded by her family, who will forever carry her love and spirit with them.

Debbie was born on May 12, 1953, in Middletown, Ohio, to her mother Lucille. When she was still an infant, she, her sister Pam, and her mother were taken in by Debbie’s grandparents, Gertrude and Edward, who moved the family to Miami, Florida. They chose Miami because their beloved daughter Lucille had been stricken with polio and was not expected to live much longer, and they believed the warm climate would improve her condition. Their decision proved correct, as Lucille lived into her late forties and passed away in 1977. Debbie grew up surrounded by the love, protection, and devotion of the grandparents she adored.

She graduated from Miami Senior High School in 1971 and remained forever connected to Miami’s warmth, culture, and spirit. She spoke fluent Spanish, embraced the city’s diversity, and was proudly considered “honorary Cuban” by many who knew her. In 1976, Debbie met the love of her life, Kaya Yurtkuran, when she famously stuck her foot out to trip him in a Miami bar. From that day forward, they were inseparable. Their nearly fifty-year marriage was built on humor, loyalty, devotion, and an unshakeable bond.

In 1993, Debbie moved with her family to Mississippi after Kaya asked her if she would be willing to relocate for his work. She answered him with her quiet certainty: “Where you go, I go.” It ended up being one of the best decisions their family ever made. They settled in Puckett and remained in the Jackson metro area for nearly three decades. In 2022, Debbie and Kaya chose to spend their golden years on Mississippi’s Gulf Coast, a place Debbie loved for its nearness to the ocean and her simple joy of picking seashells. They eventually made their home in Diamondhead, Mississippi, where she enjoyed the coastal life she had always cherished.

Debbie was a devoted mother to her children, Shaun Yurtkuran and Jasmin Yurtkuran Trueba, pouring herself into raising them with curiosity, discipline, compassion, and an insistence on education. Weekly library trips were a cornerstone of their childhood. It was Debbie’s hard work, encouragement, and belief in education that helped shape Jasmin into the successful nurse she is today, proudly following in the footsteps of Debbie’s own mother, Lucille. Debbie could not have been more proud of that. And all those library trips had a profound effect on her son Shaun as well, who went on to become a longtime prosecutor, and now runs his own law firm and co-hosts a local Jackson, Mississippi radio show.

She believed deeply in doing what was right, in standing up for others, and in living with loyalty and integrity. Even after her diagnosis, her thoughts remained on her family rather than herself.

Debbie is survived by her husband, Kaya Yurtkuran, and her children, Shaun Yurtkuran of Jackson, Mississippi, and Jasmin Yurtkuran Trueba and her husband, Manny Trueba, of Pagosa Springs, Colorado. She was preceded in death by her beloved mother, Lucille, and her sister, Pam. She is also survived by her half-siblings Beverly McKinley, Ted Plummer and Kim Plummer, whom she was fortunate to connect with later in life. She is lovingly remembered as well by her extended family in Miami, who helped shape her childhood and filled her early years with culture, laughter, and community.

In accordance with her wishes, there will be no formal service. Instead, the family will hold a private celebration of her life with family and extended family, filled with many of her favorite things, including Cuban cuisine and the music of the 1960s and1970s. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made in Debbie’s memory to the Humane Society of South Mississippi: https://www.hssm.org/ or a dog rescue organization of your choosing. 
Debbie lived a life defined by love, resilience, and unwavering devotion to her family. Her legacy endures in the lives she shaped and the values she instilled. She will be deeply missed.

Edmond Fahey Funeral Home is honored to serve the family of Deborah Yurtkuran.