Debra Nordberg Obituary

DEBRA L. NORDBERG

Debra L. Nordberg, of Auburn, passed away peacefully at home on Monday, April 21, 2025. Her death came at the end of a valiant, 5-year-long, battle against a rare cancer, intimal sarcoma.

Debbie was born in Worcester. She was raised in Auburn and lived almost her entire life in Town. She was the daughter of Robert and Ruth (Wahlstrom) Norwood. She is survived by her loving husband of 59 years, Paul. She is also survived by her daughters, Susan A. Kochling and her husband Edmund, of Charlton, and Amy R. Foss, of Ogunquit, Maine. She leaves her sister Nancy Pope, of Brooklin, Maine and her husband Al, and her brother, Robert Norwood of Framingham and his wife, Sue. She leaves three grandchildren, Christopher Kochling, of Houston, Texas, Michael Foss, of Washington, D.C., and Kyra Foss, of Boston. She also leaves numerous cousins, nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her parents and, in 2008, by her only son, Kevin.

The great joy of Debbie’s life was her family. The times she spent with them, and the trips they shared, were the highlights of her life. For decades she hosted the Christmas Eve Dinner for her close relatives, and her extended family.

Debbie was an elementary school educator for 32 years in the Auburn Public Schools. She had a wonderful gift in the field of helping young people adjust to, and flourish in, their early years of schooling.

The great destination in Debbie’s life was her second home, in Ogunquit, Maine. Time spent in Ogunquit, and especially on its beautiful beach, was always a wonderful experience for Debbie.

Services for Debbie will be held on Saturday; April 26, 2025, at The First Congregational Church in Auburn. A visitation time will be held from 9:30 A.M. until 11:00 A.M., followed by a celebration of Debbie’s life at 11 A.M. Interment will be held, immediately after the services, at Auburn’s Hillside Cemetery, where Debbie will be buried beside her son, Kevin.

In lieu of flowers, gifts in Debbie’s memory may be made to the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center in support of Dr. Edwin Choy’s sarcoma research. Gifts may be made on-line at https/giving.massgeneral.org/donate, or mailed to the MGH Development Office; Attention Keith Erickson; Suite 640; 125 Nashua Street; Boston, MA 02114. Checks may be made payable to Massachusetts General Hospital with the notation: ” Tribute to Debbie Nordberg,” on the memo line.

The family has entrusted Debbie’s funeral arrangements to the Mercadante Funeral Home and Chapel.