Deborah Gilg

December 15, 1951 - November 16, 2022

Deborah Gilg was a champion for justice, women, and her family. She was a trailblazer.  

On November 16, Nebraska lost that champion after a short and fierce battle with colon cancer. Gilg’s loving husband Dan was at her side when she passed, just less than a month from what would have been her 71st birthday.

A graduate of Omaha Central High School, Gilg earned her undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Central High School later made her a member of the school’s hall of fame while the UNL College of Law honored her with its Outstanding Public Alumna Award. She also served there as an adjunct faculty member.

She moved to western Nebraska after law school graduation and began her private law practice before settling in Ogallala. She was elected Keith County Attorney and served in that position for 16 years. While in that job, Gilg also served as Special Deputy County Attorney and/or Special Prosecutor for 21 western Nebraska counties. In 2002 she returned to Omaha in 2002 to be closer to the family due to health reasons.

Douglas County Don Kleine called Gilg a good friend of many years, and said he appreciated their professional relationship as prosecutors.

“We had a great working relationship with Douglas County,” Kleine recalled. He said that included her time as U.S. Attorney and their work as local county officials.

“I’ll just remember her for her steady hand running the U.S. Attorney’s office . . . she was just great overall to work with,” Kleine said, declining to point to any particular case.

“She was a great mentor to other lawyers,” he offered. “We talked frequently.”

He shared one more thought: “She was also a great family person.”

Seven years after her return to eastern Nebraska, she was appointed by President Barack Obama as the United States Attorney for Nebraska. Gilg was the first woman to hold the job, and while in that position she chaired or served on numerous federal committees. One she considered particularly meaningful was the federal task force on violence against Native American women.

None of that work surprised Judith Schweikart, an Omaha attorney and long-time friend.

“It was a remarkable career, and I am sure the list of awards and firsts she received . . . is impressive.” Schweikart stated. “But what I remember most about her was how generous she was with her time and talent.”

She seconded Kleine in honoring Gilg as always being reading to mentor young attorneys.

“That’s a generosity of spirt that is all too rare,” Schweikart stated. “She would do whatever she could do and whatever connections she had . . .  to bring somebody along and help their career.”

And there was another notable point. “She went out of her way to hire a diverse staff,” “Every time she had an opportunity.”

Following Gilg’s 2017 retirement as U.S. Attorney, she focused on community engagement and founded Fearless, Fierce, and Forward, an organization to empower women in the areas of gender pay parity, negotiation skills, surviving domestic violence, and professional development. During her career she volunteered her time for several organizations, including time chairing the Nebraska Jail Standards Board for more than two decades, a position to which she was appointed by five governors.

Gilg was a lifetime fellow of the Nebraska Bar Foundation and a member of the Nebraska, Iowa, and Colorado Bar Associations.

An enthusiastic reader and gifted pianist, Gilg traveled the world with her husband and visited the seven continents. She tended to her flowers at home and took great pride in her children and their accomplishments. That joy was shared in their blessing her with six grandchildren.

 Gilg is survived by her law school classmate and husband, grandchildren, siblings and many nieces and nephews. Also, her four dogs. Gilg’s parents, Harry Roach and Jacqueline Kinsel Roach, preceded her in death.

A Sunday wake for Gilg was followed by a prayer service and a Monday Mass. Instead of flowers, the family asked for donations in her memory to the St. Augustine Indian Mission or OWH Goodfellows.

“She actually lived what she believed,” Schweikart said. “Not all of us, frankly, do.”