It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of Deborah "Debbie" Cunningham Niksch, lovingly known as Debbie, on May 28, 2024 at the age of 64 in Montego Bay, Jamaica. Debbie was born in Bloomington, IN on May 26, 1960, and lived her life full of love, empathy, and kindness.

Debbie is survived by her wonderful children, Katie (Mike) Yatsko of Chesterton, Ben Niksch of Miller/Chicago, and Kim Niksch of Bettendorf, Iowa, and her caring sisters, Leslie (Rene) Trischler of Cassopolis, MI and Cathy (Shaun) Busick of Greensburg, IN. She is also survived by her many nieces and nephews whom she loved, and was excited to soon become a grandmother with her first grandchild due in September. She was predeceased by her mother, Barbara Byrum, and her father, John Cunningham. She also lost her beloved grandparents, Kathryn and William Shields, before her. She will be greatly missed by her family and friends.

Debbie was a devoted Notre Dame football fan that grew up spending much time at her family cottage on Diamond Lake in Michigan where she loved to spend time with her immediate and extended family swimming, waterskiing, and catching turtles with her Papa Willie.

She graduated from Purdue Calumet with a degree in Systems Analysis and Design and started her career as a computer programmer at Inland Steel. Debbie was a lifelong learner and went back to school at Purdue to study Early Childhood Development and Entrepreneurship. Debbie was a very present mother and wanted to spend less time away from her own kids, so she started a daycare / learning center Broad Horizons in Griffith, IN and became the founder and CEO.

After the daycare, Debbie dedicated a great amount of time to volunteering as an active parent at Emerson School for the Visual and Performing Arts in Gary, IN. She wore many hats from everyone’s second mom, accompanist, teacher caterer, chauffeur, and friend. Debbie had a love for the arts and enjoyed attending and supporting performances throughout the year. Many of the students at Emerson have shared that Debbie created a safe space for them as they were growing up and was always very generous and loving to them in the time that they spent together.

She ended life understanding the power of nonprofit organizations and the need for them to find funding. She went back to school at IUN and earned a Non-Profit Management Masters in Public Administration to become a grant writer and spent a considerable amount of her time writing grants, serving as a board member, and/or working for organizations such as Heroes Camp in South Bend, The Friend’s of Emerson, Urban League of Northwest Indiana, International Community Alliance, South Shore Grants Center, and Carnegie Arts. Debbie had a passion for working with organizations that bring about positive changes to the City of Gary and surrounding regions. She also enjoyed teaching piano to her students from her home over the years.

In her spare time, Debbie enjoyed watching plays and musicals in Chicago, listening to The Carpenters, Earth Wind and Fire, and Chicago, and watching Dr Phil and Joal Olsteen. She was one of those rare people that always ordered three drinks at dinner: ice water, her favorite Diet Coke, and unsweetened iced tea with Sweet n’ Low. When she did indulge in an adult beverage, she preferred 4 to 1 cream to Bailey’s (although most servers would look at her like she had a third eye when she tried to order this). She enjoyed going out to eat with her family and was always cracking up laughing about something that she was thinking about, or that one of her children said. If you’ve ever been out to eat with Debbie, you knew not to sit directly in front of her unless you wanted to be in the “spray zone”!

Always kind-hearted, Debbie lived by the motto of treating others the way you want to be treated and killing them with kindness. She lived by this motto and treated everyone like they were her family. Her passing has left an indelible void in our hearts. May her soul rest in peace and may her legacy inspire us to live lives of kindness and generosity, just as she did.

A Celebration of Life for Debbie will take place at 10:00 AM on September 1, 2024, at the Marquette Park Pavilion in Gary, Indiana. In remembrance of her, we invite all who knew her to join us in commemorating her legacy and the life she lived. We ask guests to wear one of Debbie’s favorite colors: yellow, blue, or pink in memory of her. Lunch will be provided. Please RSVP at https://everloved.com/life-of….

In lieu of flowers, we are asking people to make a donation to Hero's Camp in her name https://heroescamp.com/donate.

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