Deborah Lynn (Netherton) Bess

Deborah (Deb or Debbie) Lynn (Netherton) Bess, 67 of Windfall, passed away on June 6, 2023 at her home surrounded by her family. She was a 1972 graduate of Tipton High School. 

She married the love of her life, Michel Bess, on December 27, 1991. They enjoyed 25 years of marriage together. 

Deb was a giving soul and would have given you the shirt off her back if needed. Many of her children’s friends would lovingly refer to her as “Mom” because she was like a community mother to them and opened her house to many of them. 

Deb could often be found in the kitchen cooking enough food to feed an army, “Just in case someone stops by and they’re hungry,” she would say. If she wasn’t cooking, she loved nothing more than to watch her “ghost stories” and have her grandchildren, who she loved more than anything, with her. 

She was preceded in death by her husband, Mike, her mother and father, and ten siblings. 

She leaves behind her son, Eric (Erika) Santana of Tipton, daughter Dee (Brandon Anderson) Bess of Windfall, son, Scott Vautaw, her honorary children, Dan and Tammy Hiatt of Windfall and her grandchildren Joseph Vautaw, Cambria and Oliver Santana, Zoey, Kaceson, and Kolten Anderson, Emily and Katelynn White, Daniel Hiatt, Joseph Tyler Vautaw, and soon to be born Jordyn Anderson, brother, Terry netherton, sister, Dee Peters,  several nieces, nephews, step children, and “adopted” children. 

A funeral service will be Tuesday, June 13th at 5:00 pm, with visitation from 3:00 - 5:00 pm at Taylor & Cowan Funeral Home located at 314 N. Main Street in Tipton. Deb will be laid to rest in a private ceremony at Marion National Cemetery in Marion, IN next to her husband, Mike. 

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that a donation be made to the funeral home to offset funeral expenses.  An online donation can be made directly to the funeral home using the green payment button on the home page of the website, please put Deborah Bess in the comment section.  

Taylor & Cowan Funeral Home is honored to care for the Bess family. 

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