Debora Sue (Reutter) Brown of Raleigh, NC passed away on June 21, 2026 at the age of 74 while vacationing in Hawaii with family. She was born on October 9, 1951 at Sparrow Hospital in Lansing, Michigan, where her mother, Margaret Reutter, worked as a nurse for many years.
Debora grew up in Holt, Michigan. An A-student who was well-liked by her teachers, classmates and softball team, she attended Holt Junior and Senior High Schools until her family moved to Grand Ledge in the Summer of 1968. Even though she graduated from Grand Ledge High School in 1969, she was always considered a Holt Schools Alum. She started her college career at Hope College in Holland, Michigan in 1969, before moving to Boulder Colorado in 1971 where she earned her degree in Early Education from the University of Colorado in Boulder. She eventually settled into a long-tenured teaching career in Martinsville, Virginia.
Debora loved all of the children she taught and was deeply invested in their personal well-being. She even worked after hours with special needs children in their homes. Her love for children was also reflected in her gentle parenting of her daughters. After retirement, spending time with her grandchildren was her greatest joy.
Throughout college as well as her teaching career, she continued to have a passion for flower arranging and worked off and on as a florist both professionally and just for fun. Always a social butterfly, she was active in church and loved to plan and attend social events within her community. She was a proud member of the Red Hat Society in Martinsville and even planned arts, crafts and movie nights at her Raleigh apartment complex in her final years.
Debora was preceded in death by her father, John Dayton Reutter, of Lansing, Michigan.
She is survived by her mother, Margaret Reutter, of Lansing, Michigan, her brother, Dennis Reutter, of Castle Rock, Colorado, her brother, Douglas Reutter, of Farmington, Michigan, her sister, Diane Martin, of Parker, Colorado, her brother, Carl Reutter, of Lansing, Michigan, her daughter, Mary (Brown) Morgan, of Raleigh, NC, and her daughter, Julia Stoy (Nathan) and their children Lilah (12) and Liam (9) of Raleigh, NC.
We are thankful for the time we shared with Debora and that we will always be able to remember her as beautiful, vibrant, and having the time of her life in her final days.
The family welcomes those who loved her to attend the following memorial services in her honor:
A church memorial service will be held at Pilgrim Congregational United Church of Christ, 125 S. Pennsylvania Avenue, Lansing, MI 48912, on Saturday, August 22nd at 11 a.m., with lunch to follow.
A celebration of life service will be held at Mitchell Funeral Home at Raleigh Memorial Park, 7209 Glenwood Avenue, Raleigh, NC 27612, on Saturday, August 29th, at 11 a.m., with lunch to follow. Interment to follow at the nearby Raleigh Memorial Park, 7501 Glenwood Ave, Raleigh, NC 27612.
If you would like to leave a favorite memory / story of Debora, or a message of condolence for her family, you may do so below, within 'Add a Memory'.
