Janette Louise Buckbee ( Ahrens, December 10, 1925 – April 24, 2016), also known as Deedee Ahrens, was an American

figure skater Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, with its introduction occurring at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic d ...

Life and career

Ahrens was born in

Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (often abbreviated St. Paul) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County, Minnesota, Ramsey County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, ...

on December 10, 1925. She attended the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

during the 1940s. Ahrens competed as both a single and

pair skater Pair skating is a figure skating discipline defined by the International Skating Union (ISU) as "the skating of two persons in unison who perform their movements in such harmony with each other as to give the impression of genuine Pair Skating a ...

, first with partner Robert Uppgren and later with Arthur Preusch. She also competed in fours with Uppgren, Mary Louise Premer, and Lyman Wakefield Jr. and won the 1941 North American title. They were called the "St. Louis Four" and were the first team in history that defeated Canada. After becoming a professional skater, she taught skating. Ahrens married Norman Simmons DeCoster in 1947; they divorced and she married Allen Buckbee in December 1985. During the 1970s, Ahrens lived in

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

, but later resided in

White Bear Lake White Bear Lake may refer to: Canada * White Bear (Carlyle) Lake United States *White Bear Lake (Minnesota), a lake in Ramsey and Washington counties in Minnesota *White Bear Lake, Minnesota, a city in Ramsey County **White Bear Lake Area High Sch ...

. She died in

Mahtomedi, Minnesota Mahtomedi ( ) is a city in Washington County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 8,138 at the 2020 census. Mahtomedi is a suburb of St. Paul and is located between St. Paul and Stillwater along the shores of White Bear Lake. Geogr ...

on April 24, 2016, at the age of 90.

Competitive highlights

Ladies' singles

Pair skating

(with Uppgren) (with Preusch)

Four skating

(with Premer, Uppgren, and Wakefield)

References

1925 births 2016 deaths 20th-century American sportswomen American female pair skaters American female single skaters {{US-figure-skating-bio-stub