Obituary of Debra Grace Christopher

Debra Grace Christopher, a woman who embraced life and loved her family and friends, passed away peacefully surrounded by her loving family on Saturday afternoon, July 23, 2022.  She was 59 years old.  Debra was born in Winchester.  She was one of four children and the only daughter of Grace and Frank DiTucci.  She grew up in Burlington and graduated from Burlington High School in 1980.  

Debra had an incredible work ethic and could do almost anything she put her mind to.  When she was a teenager, she worked for her brother at Spencer Cleaners.  She then went to work at Hewlett Packard and Motorola.  Her warmth, knowledge, and ability to connect with others made her a natural salesperson.  She often received awards for being the top salesperson for Motorola.  Tired on the intensity and pressure of sales, she switched careers and worked as a Teachers Assistant at the Ambrose Elementary School in Winchester for 10 years and was currently working as a Nursing Assistant at the Bear Hill Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Stoneham.  Never to let herself to sit idle, she also did childcare along with her other jobs. 

Debra was one of those special people you meet and instantly feel a connection with.  She was outgoing, but also a great listener.  She was everyone’s “Mom”.  Learned from her Italian mother, food is the way to everyone’s hearts.  She wanted everyone who visited from family, friends, and her children’s friends to stop for a while, have a seat at her kitchen table, enjoyed one of her culinary creations, and chat about what was going on in their lives as they ate.  She first met her husband Charlie at a friend’s party in May of 1984.  There was an instant connection.  It was a rather long courtship, but eventually the couple married in 1992.  She was the gregarious one of the pair and always kept Charlie on his toes.  She was an amazing mother to her children. She was caring, protective, giving, instilled strong values, and the person to go to talk about a problem or concern.  She was the youngest of her siblings and loved the time spent her brother’s and their families.  She had wonderful friends whom she would go shopping with, watch movies, go out to eat with, and just hang around talking about everything.  There were regular trips with her girlfriends whom they referred to themselves as “The Ladies of the Lake”.  She was that amazing friend who was always available to talk, listen, or lend a loving hand. She loved spending summer days with her in-laws, the Christopher family, at Wingaersheek Beach in Gloucester.  Debra always had a sense for fashion, loved her bling and her hairspray.   She will be remembered for her infectious smile, loyalty, kindness, warmth, the way she made everyone feel special, and love she shared with her family, friends, and coworkers.

Debra was the beloved wife of 30 years of Charles Christopher, Jr.  She was the loving mother of Anthony, Joseph, and Francesca Christopher all of Winchester.  She was the daughter of the late Grace and Frank DiTucci. She was the sister of Frank DiTucci & his wife Maria, Daniel DiTucci & his wife Mary, and Ronald DiTucci & his wife Vanessa all of Burlington.  She was the daughter-in-law of Charles and Rose Christopher of Winchester and the sister-in-law of Linda Christopher of Winchester.  Debra is also survived by many nieces, nephews, and dear friends.

Visiting hours will be held at the Edward V. Sullivan Funeral Home, 43 Winn St., Burlington on Wednesday, July 27 from 5-7pm. Relatives and friends are respectfully invited to attend.  The funeral services will be private. 

Memorials, in Debra’s name, may be made to the American Diabetes Association, www.diabetes.org, P.O. Box 7023, Merrifield, VA, 22116-7023.