Deborah Bonsack grew up in upstate New York. Deborah’s father was an inveterate camper and her family and five or so other families would tent camp every weekend from last to first snowfall and for all vacations. There was no electricity but lots of singing around the campfire and her father would preach on Sundays. The winter was spent being Episcopalian and somewhat normal or as much as you can with a Spiritualist medium grandmother.
Well, that was enough camping although the love of music stuck with her. She traveled to Austin Texas in 1977 with her first spouse, became a part of the music scene and helped organize the precursor to the South by Southwest music festival. She attended the University of Texas, did standup comedy and worked as a social worker eventually becoming the Executive Director of Texas Special Olympics. In 1995 she moved to DC as the Deputy Director for US Programs and then the Director for Global Field Services, working closely with Eunice and Sargent Shriver.
At the end of her marriage Deborah found that she was happier with women and in 1998 along with her second spouse adopted her daughter Claire from China. In the early 2000s they began looking for a way to provide Claire with a religious education. They found UUCSS and for a while it was a church home.
As Claire grew older Deborah drifted away from UUCSS. She is now retired and if you look around her home that she shares with Dori Turner you will see her paintings and sculptures everywhere. Retirement and having free time led to a burst of creative energy that still is unfolding. Deborah had known Deborah Weiner and Janne Harrelson through shared adoption experiences. When Janne died Deborah went to her memorial service she found something she missed, a likeminded community with a spiritual connection. She and Dori are back and Deborah’s helping out the finance team beginning a new chapter at UUCSS.