‘Beyond Tomorrow’: Remembering 77-year-old killed in head-on collision
Mackenzie Stafford
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – On March 22, 2026, at approximately 8:14 p.m., the Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD) says it received a call for service regarding a head-on traffic crash near the intersection of Briargate Boulevard and Lexington Drive. Police say the initial report indicated that two vehicles were racing eastbound on Briargate Boulevard when one crossed into oncoming traffic and struck a westbound Volkswagen SUV head-on.
Both drivers were transported to a local hospital with serious injuries. Police say the driver of the Volkswagen SUV died from their injuries at the hospital. On March 23, 2026, the El Paso County Coroner’s Office identified her as 77-year-old Deanna Stemler.
Police say the CSPD Major Crash Team assumed responsibility for the investigation and that speed is being investigated as a contributing factor in this crash.
Nearly a month after the crash, no arrests have been made. Police tell KRDO13 the investigation is still ongoing, and no one has been charged at the time of this writing. Officers say they are making good progress in the investigation, but that they are not at a point where they can release anything just yet.
Stemler was driving home from church when the crash happened, leaving her community grappling with her sudden loss. Garrett McNew, Assistant Pastor at Lighthouse Baptist Church, said Stemler was a beloved member of the church and a devout follower of Christ.
McNew explained how Stemler worked with kids in their Sunday School classes on Sundays and Mondays. He said she always seemed happiest when sharing God’s love with the children.
Stemler was a gifted piano teacher. She played the keys at church, at home and even gave free lessons to kids when she lived in Texas, the assistant pastor shared.
Friends and fellow congregants remember her for making everyone feel valued and important.
“Even if it was your first conversation, you left thinking you were the most important person in the world,” said Assistant Pastor Garrett McNew.
At Lighthouse Baptist Church, many knew her simply as “Mrs. Dee.”
“She was so full of energy and spunky and she loved working with all the kids here at the church,” shared McNew. “She loved those little kids, and that was her way of showing Jesus to others, was just loving people who really can’t do anything else for you. They’re just little kids. And she loved them, loved them, loved them, loved them.”
Stemler led a full and interesting life outside of church, McNew explained. He shared that she and her late husband were instrumental in bringing the ProRodeo Hall of Fame to Colorado Springs. McNew said Stemler met Ronald Reagan during her life. Despite her life experiences, he says she remained humble and dedicated to her faith.
McNew said when he heard the news of Stemler’s death, it was like a gut punch.
“There was no reason for the accident. She wasn’t doing anything wrong. She was in her turn lane, just making a left-hand turn into her house like she did every time she came home,” McNew said.
In the midst of their grief, members of the church grapple with forgiveness. Assistant Pastor McNew says it’s their burden to forgive, just like Stemler would have wanted.
“The same type of love that she showed to people here would honestly be the same type of love that she would show to the person who hit her, that she would want him to find, grace and mercy and forgiveness in the same relationship with Christ that she found. That was just who she was,” explained McNew.
McNew emphasized the importance of living each moment as Stemler did.
“Every moment matters. And she had no idea that that last night here at church with her church family was her last night. And yet she was the same person. She was joyful and genuine,” he recalled.
On her electric keyboard at home, the last song she had been playing was an old hymn titled “Beyond Tomorrow,” shared McNew.
“The last song that she had up that she played was an old hymn called Beyond Tomorrow. And the hymn is all about heaven. And so before she ever went, that’s where her heart was set,” McNew explained.
The ProRodeo Hall of Fame tells KRDO13 that Ken and Deanna Stemler are going to be recognized on its memorial wall. A representative for the ProRodeo Hall of Fame says they are donating to the hall of fame in their honor.