Deborah Ann Gregg was born on March 27, 1959 in Woodridge, Connecticut. As a child and young girl Debbie was extrodinarily busy reading and achieving. Reported in the Uniroyal World, June 1979, "she was fond of hobbies like stamp collecting and reading, but Debbie's real devotion was to the great outdoors.
Hiking, birding, mineral collecting, gardening and bicycling were all favorite pastimes of this future archeologist." In high school, Debbie earned letters in track and cross-country at Amity Regional Senior High School. She was business board editor of the school newspaper, a volunteer in the peer tutoring/counseling program and member of the National Honor Society. Additionally, she managed to earn a National French Exam Certificat de Merite and German book award."
Debbie continued her search for truth and excellence at Williams, where in 1983, she graduated magna cum laude with two undergraduate degrees (philosophy and environmental studies). During several summer programs, she learned bagpiping and made her first bagpipe. She then spent a year in Scotland working on her family tree and counseling at a residential care home for children.
In 1985 she came to the Bay Area and helped found Women's Choice Clinic in Oakland. During this time she was very active for women's reproductive self care and abortion rights. Having studied Ji Do Kwon, she obtained the rank of red/black belt in 1986. She also continued piping and won numerous individual competitions in the Scottish Rites Games. Debbie also enjoyed cross-country skiing, backpacking, river rafting and surfing.
Somehow during this time, Debbie found the energy to travel coast-to-coast via motorcycle and on route attended sacred Native American ceremonies to honor and preserve the earth. Big Mountain was one of her places of prayer. Less than a month after returning to the Bay Area (July 1987), she met June LeGrand (who has also crossed over to the Spirit world) at a ceremony to honor the elder woman. From this time until Debbie's own Spirit world journey, she committed every aspect of her life to walking the Red Road.
Since family was of great importance to Debbie and she was estranged from her parents and brother, Debbie asked Pamela Jones to become her elder sister. Under the direction of Martin Highbear (a Teton Sioux Medicine Man who is also in the Spirit world), Debbie and Pam spent a year in contemplation of this responsibility and on June 13, 1993, in Medford, Oregan, they became sisters in a Making Of Relatives Ceremony witnessed by many people. From this day forth, Debbie became a significant part of her grand nieces' and nephews' lives. Through Auntie Debbie, these "city" children became comfortable with nature and vegetarian cuisine, such as barbaqued veggie burgers and hotdogs.
Debbie also traveled through and studied in Mexico to learn Spanish. After graduating in 1994 form the University of California at Berkeley with a Master's Degree in Social Work, Debbie interned with the Contra Costa County Mental Health Department, UCB Counseling and Psychiatric Services and the VA Hospital National Center for PTSD. She worked for a year with Santa Clara County Mental Health and then found her most perfect job with Gardner Health Center in 1995, where she was very active with the Union. Debbie was acutely aware of ALL of who she was an had been an active member of several Anonymous programs.
According to Debbie's wishes her physical body was prepared by two of her spiritual sisters and her spiritual community prayed for her spirit. Her ashes and cannupa will be properly buried near Mount Shasta.
Debbie's seemingly tireless spirit is now resting in the Spirit World with her Red Road teachers and many ancestors. Our beloved warrior sister led a creative and active life and had well earned herself a place of rest and everlasting peace.