Deborah Adams Roraback

Debbie was the beloved sister of Pamela (James) Nelson and Walter (Ann Reese) Adams, cherished aunt of Rachel (Jeff) Spahr, Natalie Nelson, Mariah Adams, and Linnea (Caleb) Anderson, and dear great-aunt of Dylan Spahr and Evelyn Anderson. She was preceded in death by both her parents.

Debbie grew up in Detroit and later Redford Township. She attended St. Suzanne and St. Valentine parish schools and Our Lady of Mercy High School. She attended Michigan State University and received a bachelor's degree in education from the University of Michigan in Dearborn.

She married Tim Roraback in 1978; they divorced in 1989.

Debbie was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 1981, the disease she suffered from for 42 years and which eventually caused her death.

She received her master's degree with honors in social work from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. She frequently boarded the train from Dearborn to Ann Arbor and then used her motorized wheelchair to get to campus from the train depot.

Debbie wrote many feature articles for the Detroit Free Press about chronic illness. She also worked for the Paralyzed Veterans of America.

Eventually, realizing that there were not enough resources and information available to those suffering from chronic illnesses, she created the Chronic Illness Coalition. This organization has grown over time to include over 60 independent health organizations working together to provide information and support to those suffering from chronic illness.

Debbie also worked in private practice as a social worker.

She was proud of her work for Purple Heart. She had to stop her work when her MS had progressed too far and she had to move to Livonia Woods nursing facility, where she lived for her final 9-1/2 years.

Debbie is remembered by those who knew her as intelligent, funny, beautiful, and very brave. She was a "fighter" who fought a terrible disease most of her life. She will be missed very much by all who knew and loved her.

An in state for Deborah will be held Wednesday, July 5, 2023 at 9:30 AM at St. Mary Cause Of Our Joy, 8200 North Wayne Rd., Westland, Michigan 48185, followed by a funeral mass at 10:00 AM. She will be laid to rest in Holy Sepulchre Catholic Cemetery.