Debra June Oranzi, born Debra June Smith, mother of two and wife of Leonard Oranzi, left for her home in the sky quietly on Saturday, November 12th, 2016. She was with family. Debra was a tireless helper with a compassion as deep and vast as the sea. Born March 17th, 1954, Debra was committed to social progress and civic duty, just another facet of the character of her heart. To hear her sing just once was to never forget the quality and soul of her voice. Honoring her wishes, her family will not be holding a viewing; friends and loved ones are invited to reach out to the family privately about the best ways to honor her in the coming weeks. Debra was an organ donor. She held a strong belief in the beauty of humanity, and in this time, her wishes would likely encourage all those who knew and loved her to honor that feeling and go forward with love in their hearts.Deb’s Last DaysI spent every day and every night for almost 2 weeks sitting by her side, holding her hand, stroking her face, and her hair. However, it was the late evening visits, when I’d gently whisper little songs in her ear that gave me the peace to go home, nestle within her pillows and slowly drift away. It was the warmth of her skin, maybe a bit warmer than normal that made me believe that she was still alive, could still feel me and, above all, still hear me. The doctors said, “no” it’s just the machine induced respiration that made her skin warm. How do they know?! They know only what the machines tell them. They are trained for many years to think that way. They told me that her brain was gone so there was no way for her to even know I was there. Maybe the parts of the brain that hear and respond can transfer to her spinal chord, or heart or even shoulder muscles. I’m not religious but maybe there was some kind of spirit that still hovered and listened and felt me stroke her warm skin. They don’t know. I had to believe. If not I wouldn’t be able to go home every night and sleep so soundly. As I said in the first posting, there’s a line from the James Taylor, song “Sweet Baby James” “there’s a song that that they sing in their home in the sky”. I sang it to her every night and that final day, when they removed the machines, even after all the lights stopped blinking, she was still warm. I kissed her and whispered in her ear, “we’ll visit every night in your new home in the sky.I’ll see ya tonight you beautiful silver haired cowgirl”.
