Christine Deming

In Loving Memory of Christine Deming

It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of Christine Deming, age ninety-eight, on April 6, 2025, while in Tucson, Arizona. Christine was a beloved first-grade teacher at McGill Elementary School for nearly thirty years. She was a cherished member of the White Pine community, and active in the United Methodist Church and the teaching profession.

Born November 23, 1926, in Kingston, Arkansas, Christine was the youngest of eight children. When she was two years old, the family moved to a farm near Cordell, Oklahoma. Farming and ranching were interwoven in her life. Later, the family moved to Rocky, Oklahoma, where she graduated from high school. Christine attended Southwestern State (SWOSU) in Weatherford, Oklahoma, where she met Loran Deming. They married, and Christine began a teaching career in Dill City, Oklahoma. They had children and settled in Wichita, Kansas. In 1962, they moved their family to Ely, Nevada, where Loran began teaching at White Pine High School and Christine began teaching at McGill Elementary School. After a year, the family bought a home in McGill and moved there. Towards the end of their teaching careers, they bought land north of Bassett Lake and built a cattle ranch, enjoying being close to nature, watching the Northern Lights, and enjoying their family. As they advanced in age, they moved back to Ely.

Christine enjoyed her family, cooking, making jelly from wild harvested chokecherries and plums, going up into the mountains and creeks, gardening, quilting, and all the children that she taught through the years. A lifelong learner, she and Loran would travel with their four children every summer back to Oklahoma to continue studies and achieve her master’s degree in teaching. While in Oklahoma, the family would reconnect with parents, siblings, and cousins, then return to White Pine County and home for another school year. 

A spirited educator, she once organized a parade with her class in McGill. In more recent times, she rode on the McGill float in the White Pine Fourth of July parade in Ely in 2021, to the delight of all her former students, now spanning three generations.

Christine was preceded in death by a daughter (died at birth), husband Loran, son-in-law Thomas Hutchings, son-in-law John Hutchings, great-granddaughter Taylar Hutchings, parents, and siblings. She is survived by her daughter Mary Hutchings from Fallon, Nevada; her son John and daughter-in-law Jean (Herline) Deming of Sandy, Utah; daughter Ruth and son-in-law Paul Rolland of Henderson, Nevada; and son Dale and daughter-in-law Terry (Kemerley) Deming of Tucson, Arizona, as well as many grandchildren and great-grandchildren who will miss her sparkling blue eyes, her beaming smile, and her example of courage and grit that took her through tough times and drove her to do many things for herself. Her legacy will live on through the love and memories shared by family and friends. 

Services will be held at the United Methodist Church on the Great Basin Highway in Ely, Nevada, on Saturday, May 3, 2025, at 11 AM. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the United Methodist Church.