The Mass of Christian Burial will be 10 a.m. Friday, April 6, at St. Patrick Church, followed by burial at Oak Hill Cemetery in Butler, MO. Contributions are suggested to Poplar Heights Living History Farm, 208 N. Delaware St., Butler, MO 64730 or the William Baker Choral Foundation, 5450 Buena Vista St., #100, Roeland Park, KS 66205.
Debbie was born October 25, 1949, in Kansas City, MO, to the late Emmet and Helen (Bartlett) Kling. She grew up in Butler, MO where she developed an interest in the arts and music which became a lifelong passion. She attended the University of Missouri at Columbia where she double majored in music and education. While a member of Marching Mizzou, she met and fell in love with Bruce. Following graduation, they were married and Debbie spent the next four years as an Air Force wife. During this time, she directed and acted in officer’s wives club musicals. For the next 30 years Debbie shared her love of music and the arts as she taught vocal and instrumental music to children in kindergarten through the twelfth grade. She also directed and performed in numerous choirs and musicals. Throughout her life, Debbie enjoyed discovering new cultures, customs, and cuisines in her travels around Europe, Asia, and the Americas.
Her deep held love for her family poured into all she accomplished from teaching music, cantoring at church, performing with the William Baker Festival Singers, and volunteering her time at Poplar Heights Farm to her work in real estate
Debbie is survived by her husband, Bruce L. Casolari; her daughter, Faye D. Jackson and her husband Benji and their children, Elizabeth and Thomas; her daughter, Celia D. Casolari; and her sister, Melissa K. Phillips.
Condolences may be offered at www.passantinobros.com
(Passantino Bros. Funeral Home, Kansas City, MO (816) 471-2844)
