Debra Winkler Ohanian, BHS '71 (1953-2025)

Debra Anne Winkler Ohanian
June 28, 1953 - November 11, 2025

"Debra (Debi) Anne Ohanian passed away on November 11, 2025, surrounded by her family and friends, BHS 1971."

Posted on Facebook January 2, 2026 by Tara Ohanian-Peterson

OBITUARY

Debra (Debi) Anne Ohanian passed away on November 11, 2025, surrounded by her family and friends. Debi was born on June 28, 1953, in Burbank, California, to Eugene and Gladys Winkler. She attended Burbank High School, graduating in 1971.

In 1973, she married her high school sweetheart, Mark Ohanian. Debi and Mark traveled the world together and lived in a variety of places along the West Coast. Together, they built a family that was the center of their world. They raised their two sons, Josh and Chris, in Sebastopol, California, and found their greatest joy when spending time with family. 

Mark went to Heaven in 1998, leaving Debi to very successfully raise Josh and Chris on her own. Debi was the best mom and grandma, sister and friend. She loved spending time with her sons and granddaughter, Aliyah, as well as with her sisters and friends. She was an avid athlete. She loved to swim, walk, 4sh, play baseball, tennis, basketball, golf, ping-pong and billiards. She was competitive, often dominating her sons in sports, but was always a gracious winner. She was also an avid genealogist, tracing her family back to before they came over on the May6ower.

Debi loved all animals, particularly dogs and cats. She had a great sense of humor and loved to laugh and joke. She loved listening to and playing music. She really enjoyed spending time with her many friends. She spent time enjoying the sun, either in her pool or on her boat on Lake Sonoma. More recently, she loved to take Aliyah to the park with slices of bread to feed the ducks; something Aliyah will likely never forget. 

She was an excellent writer, wordsmith and poet. As her profession was court reporting, actively working until her passing, she always took pride in her writing and grammar. She taught her sons these skills at a young age as well. She was an amateur artist (painting and drawing) as well, although, some of her works were unintentionally quite Picasso-esque, which her family loved.

Debi was the best mom her two sons could ever have hoped for. Always telling them how much she loved them and how much they meant to her, and they always felt the same about her. She put both boys through college on her own, each graduating with multiple bachelor’s degrees. She saw or spoke with both of her sons every day until her passing.

Debi is survived by her two sons, Josh and Chris, her granddaughter, Aliyah, her sisters Annette, Kathy, Jeanne,  and sisters-in-law, Nancy and Priscilla, several nieces and nephews, and her cat, Biggy Smalls.

There will be a celebration of life ceremony at Hop Monk in Sebastopol on Saturday, January 24, 2026, from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm.