Deborah Ann Dunn, or Cookie, was born November 24, 1959 in Brooklyn, New York to John Dunn and Lela Long-Dunn. She earned the nickname Cookie from her father, big John Dunn, who was astonished at his first born’s now famous sweet tooth.
It was a sweet tooth that would last a lifetime.
As a child, she was a precocious and curious student. Those traits would also last a lifetime.
Deborah was amongst the first Black women to graduate from Brooklyn Technical High School, and over the course of her formal education earned a Bachelor's and two Master’s degrees.
She was a voracious reader.
She loved learning and sharing what she learned with anyone who had five minutes to spare. Let’s be honest, time to spare wasn’t exactly a prerequisite. She needed a more captive audience. And so her love for learning turned into a purpose, that purpose into a vocation, and after college she began a thirty-year career as a New York City teacher.
She was masterful in a classroom.
She adored her students, especially those the world gave very little to and expected even less from. She didn’t care. She was going to love on them until there was nothing more to give. She expected greatness from them, and in turn, each day the great Ms. Dunn would pour all she had into her students.
However, there was never any doubt whom her heart belonged to: Raymond Hector James Paultre, Jr. Despite growing up in adjacent neighborhoods, the two wouldn’t meet until college. And what began as a flirtatious relationship between a cheerleader and baseball player quickly turned into a proposal, sort of. When asked by another ballplayer who Deborah was, Raymond replied:
She’s my girlfriend.
And so she was. They would marry in 1982 and begin a love affair that was the stuff of cheesy romance novels. Together they had two children, Raymond Antoine and Lela Ashton. Of course, they were devoted parents - prioritizing schooling, church, ballet recitals, basketball practices, and summer trips to Disney World. They picked every pickable tree, plant, and fruit in Long Island.
Sadly, like all of God’s children, she would also face adversity and tragedy. Before the birth of Lela, Deborah was diagnosed with Lupus. And five years later, at the age of 35, on the morning of November 18, 1995 she would lose her soulmate to heart failure.
Of course. She would never be the same.
The story of Deborah, though, is not one of tragedy but of love, grace, and perseverance. Instead of giving up, she doubled-down, devoting more time to her children, her extended family, her friends, her students, her pink bible, and her church community. And all the Christmas decorations this side of the Mississippi. If it’s possible, Deborah became even more Deborah.
And she was that until she left us the morning of July 5, 2021. Fully that.
Deborah is survived by her two children: Raymond and Lela; her baby sister: Beverly; sisters-in-Law: Fernande, Ingrid, Edith, and Elizabeth; Brothers-in-Law: Phillipe, Dominique, and Benjamin.
She’s going home now, to be with her God. To be with her husband. To finally see her mom again and argue with her dad.
Deborah is home.
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