Deborah Ann Higgins

HIGGINS, DEBORAH ANN. Age 73 July 23, 2025. Loving mother of Jackie (Robert Mitchell), W. Scott (Beth Drischoll) Westermann & Kimberly McFadden. Proud grandmother of Meghan, Paige, Abbey, James, Katie & Rowan. Dearest sister of Kathleen (the late Allen) Lamb & Paul (Sue) Markle. Debbie struggled through her early adulthood raising 3 children on her own on Detroit's east side after 2 brief marriages. During this time she took various jobs from bartending at the Detroit Boat Club, to waitressing and home day care to make ends meet. She did what she could to make sure that her children were educated in Catholic private schools despite the cost and often cried trying to manage finances. Despite these challenges, she made sure to spend time with her family. Eventually she took a job in book keeping at Draper's Furniture and was able to join the choir at Our Lady Queen of Peace church in Harper Woods. From there, her family extended to choir members, church staff and fellow parishioners. Debbie was well-loved and singing became a large part of her life. Eventually her children left home and she took a book keeping position with the Catholic Archdiocese which she would keep through her retirement. Shortly after her retirement, she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Eventually living on her own became too difficult and she moved into assisted living where she could be social with other members and family visits until the pandemic forced a lockdown eventually leading to her hospice care. As her son, I have seen how the disease insidiously took her memories, her personality and her life. It is up to us, who remember and love her still, to carry her memories for her. To remember her laugh and her heart. To cherish our family as she did. And to never forget. Memorial Visitation Sunday, August 3, 2025 from 3-9pm with 7:00pm Rosary at Wujek-Calcaterra & Sons 54880 Van Dyke at 25 Mile Rd. (SHELBY TOWNSHIP). Funeral Monday August 4, 2025 a Memorial Gathering will take place beginning at 10:30am at St. Francis-St. Maximilian Church 62811 New Haven Rd, Ray, MI (E. of North Ave. and S. of 29 Mile Rd.) until time of Memorial Mass at 11:00am. Donations are welcome to the Alzheimer's Association. Inurnment St. Mary Cemetery, St. Clair Michigan. Share memories with the family at their "On Line Guest Book" @ WujekCalcaterra.com.

Deborah Ann Higgins

September 11, 1951 - July 23, 2025