Debra Jean Sutton

Debra (Debi) Jean Sutton passed away at her home on Sunday, November 24, 2024, surrounded by her family.
Born February 5, 1954 in Beaver Dam, WI to Howard and Eunice Hanefeld, she is survived by her husband Thomas Sutton, son Casey Sutton and daughter Amanda Zelinsky (Benjamin); brother Roger Hanefeld (Jan) and sister Linda Hanefeld (Mike Vollrath); and grandsons Benjamin, Andrew, and Luke Zelinsky. She was predeceased by her parents Howard and Eunice Hanefeld and her brother Steven (Huck) Hanefeld.
Debi graduated from Horicon High School in Horicon, WI in 1972. She attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison from 1972 to 1976 (where she met her future husband Tom), graduating with a B.A. in Secondary Education with a minor in Journalism. Tom and Debi were married by Tom's father, a Baptist minister, on June 4, 1977. Debi taught English at Fall River High School in Fall River, WI, and Special Education in the Edina School system in Edina, MN. Casey was born in 1981 and Mandy in 1984. In 2000 Tom and Debi fled the cold of Minnesota for the 12 month golf season of Amelia Island. On Amelia Island, Debi became an active member of the Amelia Island Club, serving on multiple committees and championing the Women's Golf Association where she served as President for two terms.
Debi mentored four high school students in the Take Stock in Children program and was an active member of the Amelia Island Plantation Chapel. Her hobbies included reading, traveling with friends and family, and golf. She won more than her fair share of tournaments including the Member-Member, Member-Guest, and Couples championships at the Amelia Island Club, the Member-Guest at the Fernandina Beach Golf Club, and the International Husband and Wife tournament in the Dominican Republic.
Among her passions was everything Disney where she had season passes for 10 years, the Jacksonville Jaguars, where she had season tickets for 22 years, and her children and grandsons, who lived in New York and Philadelphia, but whose activities she followed faithfully through her daughter's shared photo/video album.
Throughout the years Debi forged a multitude of deep friendships which comforted her immensely in her final days. Many are lifelong friendships. Others are more recent, born out of shared love for travel, golf and fun. But all were incredibly important to her.
Debi Sutton was a kind and gentle person, unpretentious and generous. She will be missed by many. We should all take solace in the fact that after fighting health problems aggressively for most of her life, she decided on her own that it was finally time to quit fighting and time to rest. She made peace with that decision Sunday. Today she is resting comfortably in the arms of her Lord.
At her request, a celebration of Debi's life will be held at the Amelia Island Club at a time and date yet to be determined.