Helen (Kitty) Deyen passed away peacefully surrounded by friends and family at home on April 23, 2015. She was born on May 26, 1923 in Kansas City, Kansas and was the second of three children of Levi Fewel Garrett and Edna (Stephenson) Garrett.
Kitty grew up in Kansas City and helped in her father’s fruit and vegetable business, Garrett-Holmes & Co. Inc. After graduating high school, Kitty move to Galesburg, Illinois to attend Knox College to study vocal music. There she met her first husband, John (Jack) Etienne Figuieras, Jr. They married on December 1, 1944. After a few years of marriage, their son, J. Steven Figuieras was born. After her husband, Jack, passed away, she then met and later married Robert (Bob) Deyen on October 11, 1980 and then move to Colorado Springs, Colorado where she lived the remainder of her life.
Throughout her adult life, Kitty was primarily a homemaker, but took great pride in her work outside of the home. She worked as a bookkeeper/teller at Merchants Bank in Kansas City, Missouri, and then later in life, was an administrative assistant for the business, V.T. Miller.
Kitty had many interests. She was actively involved in her churches Cherokee Christian Church in Prairie Village, Kansas then Village Seven Presbyterian in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Naomi Group, and The Gideons of Colorado Springs. She was a member of the Alpha Xi Delta sorority, and PEO International. In her retirement, she loved traveling the country in her motorhome with her husband Bob. But her main love was music. She and Bob loved listening to jazz and were members of the Pikes Peak Jazz and Swing Society and she was a vocalist in the Leawood Women’s Singers in Leawood, Kansas.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Levi and Edna Garrett; her brother, L.F. Garrett; her sister, Dolores Oberhelman; her first husband, Jack Figuieras; and then later by her second husband, Bob Deyen.
She is survived by her son, J. Steven (Genée) Figuieras; granddaughters, Oreana and Ava Figuieras of Lawrence, Kansas; step-daughter, Deanna Deyen of Fort Collins, Colorado; grandson Christopher Deyen of Denver, Colorado; her “adopted” grandson, John Ryan and his family of San Francisco, California; two nieces, Sheryl (Vic) Bruce of Mancos, Colorado and Karen (Bruce) Card of Montana; along with many other friends and loved ones.
A Celebration of Life Service will be held at 1:00pm on Monday, May 11, 2015 at Village Seven Presbyterian Church, 4050 South Nonchalant Circle, Colorado Springs, CO 80917. Inurnment will be private. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made in Helen’s memory to Village Seven Presbyterian Church or the American Cancer Society.