The Reverend Debra S. “Debi” Lorenz, 72, of Joplin, and a former Parsons resident, passed away at 2:58 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025, at Medicalodge in Columbus.
She was born on May 6, 1953, in Parsons to Lesley and Nadine (Amrine) Lorenz. Debi grew up in Parsons and attended Parsons schools, graduating from Parsons High School in 1971. She then attended Parsons Junior College and Southwest Baptist University, where she received a Bachelor of Arts in Music. She went on to attend Phillips University in Enid, Oklahoma, where she received a master’s degree in divinity.
Debi served as an Associate Pastor at the Hillside Christian Church in Wichita. She then served on the Pastoral Staff at the Winfield, Wellington, and Coffeyville Christian Churches. Following her service as a Pastor in the Wichita area, she served as a Pastor at Christian Churches in Cleveland, Ohio and Belleville, Illinois before moving back to Parsons, where she was the Associate Pastor at the First Christian Church in Parsons and the Pastor at the Christian Church in Erie. She retired in 2010.
