Deborah Wing

Deborah Osburn Wing passed away peacefully on May 6th, 2012 at Mayflower Place Nursing Center in West Yarmouth, Massachusetts, following a brief illness. Deborah was born in Chicago, Illinois, on April 24th, 1916, the youngest of six children born to Lettie Buck Wing and Frank Everett Wing. Mr. Wing was a medical administrator; his career later brought the family to Newton, Massachusetts, where he became head of the Boston Dispensary which later aligned with Tufts University, and eventually became The Tufts Medical Center.

Deborah (known to all as Debby), attended Newton High School where she was active in sports (tennis and swimming) and excelled academically. In her senior year she was offered a scholarship to Swarthmore College, a liberal arts college in Pennsylvania. Debby thrived at Swarthmore; it was there that she became interested in women's issues and the status of women in education and in society, areas in which she remained involved all of her life. She graduated in 1938 with a degree in English, and minors in Philosophy and Psychology. Although she left college armed with an excellent education and an enduring intellectual curiosity and love of learning, Debby realized the practical applications of her studies were limited. During her senior year she had become interested in college administration, and decided to take advantage of Swarthmore’s “fifth-year internship program,” through which she would receive instruction in elementary and secondary school education. Her first teaching position was with the Lancaster Country Day School (at the time the Shippen School for Girls), in Lancaster Pennsylvania, where she taught middle school English. From there she taught at The Lincoln School in Providence, Rhode Island, and in 1944 received her MAT degree (Master of Arts in Teaching) from Radcliffe College.

In 1945, with World War II over and opportunities emerging across the country, Debby decided it was time to seek adventure outside snowy New England. She was offered a position teaching English at the Katharine Branson School (now the Branson School), in Marin County, California.

Debby loved California, the school, and the outdoor life. However, several years later when her alma mater, Swarthmore College, contacted her with an invitation to become an Associate Dean of the College, the opportunity was one she couldn’t pass up. From 1952 to 1958 she oversaw women’s admissions and residence hall administration. She would have remained with Swarthmore were it not for a surprise invitation in 1958 from Knox College, a small liberal arts college in Galesburg Illinois, to become the Dean of Women. Debby’s life-long interest in the status of women and education and the opportunity to do important work in this area, as well as the chance to fill a “Number One” role prompted her to accept the offer.

Debby remained with Knox until her retirement in 1980. During those years she achieved a great deal academically and administratively. She was particularly proud of her role in setting up the Women’s Government, which gave female students their first “significant voice” on campus and provided an atmosphere for change, and for having chaired the Committee on the Status of Women. At her retirement in 1980, Knox created the Dean Deborah Wing Award, given each year to the senior woman whose academic achievements and endeavors command respect and advance the status of women in the Knox community.

Following her retirement, Debby remained in Illinois but was able to pursue her avid interest in international travel. She visited many European countries, but in later years cited her favorite trip as a cruise to Russia, highlighted by her visit to St. Petersburg. She remained active in AAUW (American Association of University Women), a group with which she was affiliated throughout her life. She also was extremely active in the Wing Family of America, the organization founded the late 1800s to promote family ties among the descendants of Deborah Wing (her namesake), who in 1632 traveled from England to the New World with her four sons to escape religious persecution, and settled in Sandwich, Massachusetts.

In 1988 Debby moved back to the East Coast, and in fact, settled in Sandwich herself, where her sister Martha and husband were living. Two years later Debby’s oldest sister Faith, who had been widowed a number of years earlier and was living in Newton, decided to relocate to Sandwich as well. The three "Wing Sisters” were well known in the town for a number of years. Eventually, after Faith and Martha’s husband had passed away and Martha’s health had begun to fail, Debby moved in with Martha. When Martha entered a nursing facility in 2010, it made great sense for Debby to move into the independent living section of the same facility, Mayflower Place Retirement Community.

Debby was extremely happy at Mayflower Place, and was known for her quick smile and unfailing interest in all that was around her. She was an active participant in many programs, and particularly loved her painting classes, having discovered an unrecognized talent late in her life.

Debby is survived by six nieces and nephews, Marcia Andrea Wing of Sandwich, Frank Wing of Lincoln, RI; Gary Hawkins of Sherborn, MA; David Hawkins of Chesterfield, MO; Nancy Wing Lombardi of New York, NY; and Richard Lombardi of Dublin, OH. Additionally she is survived by 12 great-nieces and nephews and 16 great-great nieces and nephews.

A memorial service will be held on Thursday, May 17th at the First Church of Christ, 136 Main Street, Sandwich, MA at 10:00 AM. Visitation will be from 6:30 to 9:00 on Wednesday evening, May 16th at the Nickerson-Bourne Funeral Home, 154 Route 6A in Sandwich. The family requests that any donations be made to AAUW, 1111 16th Street N.W., Washington DC 20036 (www.aauw.org) or The Salvation Army of Massachusetts, 25 Shawmut Road, Canton, MA 02021, Attn: Development Department. (www.salvationarmyusa.org)