our tribute ❤

Dee Dee Duhn loved having her photo in this newspaper. She was the ultimate promotional ambassador.

Dee Dee hated when she was informed that her photo would not be in this newspaper anymore, because the newspaper is not about the staff, but about you, our readers.

So, she wrote to you every week in her Publisher’s Letter. She wrote about whatever she wanted to—whether it be about a local event, any and all animals, being crowned as an honorary New Buffalo prom queen, or her travels around the globe.

Well, former publisher Dee Dee...this spread is all about you! All of these photos are through your years in the NEW BUFFALO TIMES.

By the way, her service was topnotch. Not only her Celebration of Life service, but her service to New Buffalo, and farther.

The world lost its most fabulous ambassador, who had dropped her anchor right here in New Buffalo.

JOE DURK

I was blessed to call you my friend. I approached Dee Dee in Casey’s when she became publisher of the New Buffalo Times, offering to help her with advertising sales. She politely said “No.” Then, one week later, she hired me and we quickly became good friends. She’s the friend that is silly, sincere, giving, entertaining, the life of the party no doubt, but above all, a loyal friend. I will miss my friend daily who has been a part of my life for so many years, but I will cherish all the crazy wonderful memories that we made. May you rest in peace, my dear friend.

— JANINE ADAMSKI

One of the first times I met Dee Dee, she was excitedly leading friends in assembling a massive paper carousel headpiece she would wear for an event at Silver Beach. She had an enthusiasm that drew other people into her undertakings— whether it was creating a fabulous chapeau, buying a newspaper, or collecting donations for her lipstick project.

— THERESE DONNELLY

In all our conversations, Dee Dee was calm, patient, an exceptional listener. Her advice was always thoughtful, empathetic, long-term in nature, and ultimately beautiful.

— DINO N. FATOUROS

Dee Dee was a BOSS, a QUEEN —she was a force of nature. She was smart, compassionate, and so funny. Dee Dee was a visionary, full of adventure. I don’t have the words to do her justice. She was a shining star—I am lucky and beyond grateful to have spent time with her and to have been taught by the incomparable Dee Dee Duhn.

— KRISTIN FATOUROS

As I sat in Casey’s drowning my sorrows from the closing of the New Buffalo Times, in walked the new publisher, Dee Dee Duhn, who was looking for a news reporter for her new endeavor! Truly, when one door closes, another door opens. Even before my first morning cocktail was downed! Little did I know, at the time, that Dee Dee would become a mentor, teacher, and the best friend to me and my newshound, Scuffy, could ever imagine. The stories would fill this paper, but all are always accompanied by a chuckle or a tear.

LINDA “LOIS LANE” HENDERSON

I was a little over a year out of college and I was working in retail. But I had majored in English; I wanted to write. I scoured the internet for writing jobs only to come up short: Everyone wanted at least two to three years’ experience. It was a rough economy, and I was discouraged. Who will give me a chance? Dee Dee gave me a chance. Because that was the kind of person that Dee Dee was: always taking chances, always up for an adventure. Whether she was trekking across the globe in search of treasures for her store or taking over an over-60-year-old newspaper, an adventurous spirit coursed through her and spilled over onto everyone whom she knew. I hope that I gleaned just a spark of that adventurous spirit from you, Dee Dee. Thank you, and I’ll miss you so much.

SAGALA

Dee Dee was not a formal person. Quite the opposite, but one could easily call her a “Pillar in our Community”. She always made a statement, you could count on that. She had a way of presenting herself, as few women would or could do. You might say that her manner of appearance was sometimes even shocking and close to a movie star’s costume changes. She might one day look like a cherubic angel, and the next day she might be sporting whips and chains. She ran the gamut for her outfits that were always shocking, if not charming. She made a statement, the only consistency was that she was always wore her three-inch heels! She was a Pillar in our Community.

But she was always Dee Dee Duhn, the one-time publisher of the New Buffalo Times, a purchase she made with its former publisher that was happy to get out of the business. Dee Dee had new energy and brought a shot in the arm for the fledgling paper. She inspired a new sense of the paper’s covering all aspects of a vibrant community, and it was then that she hired me. She introduced me at a staff meeting that she held in her office. I was seated next to the principal writer for the paper at the time. Dee Dee introduced everyone, one by one. I was the last one to which she announced much to my chagrin: ”And now I’d like to introduce you to someone who is a real News Newspaperman!” That did not go over too well with almost everyone (I paid for that comment for years.)

That aside, the paper flourished under her command, but failed to capture her greater interest in her retail role and she sold it to her good friends, the Fatouros’, the outdoor advertising giants, and turned her attention to her Customs Imports store, but not before throwing one last Mega Party in the big old large, leaky building. It was quite a night with food from a dozen restaurants, two bands that played all night, and Dee Dee, the consummate hostess in her classic costume, all feathers and sequins, and queen of the scene. She was a Pillar in Our Community.

She then moved the store to a downtown location on Whittaker and a new, far better building and location. She adopted her clever advertising theme of which ran weekly and cleverly stating “If you’re in New Buffalo, you must pass through Customs Imports” She was a Pillar in our Community.

Her contribution to the community was perhaps best personified when she volunteered to host the Chamber’s new Guide introduction event when she acted as the emcee, unlike all of the previous hosts for their entertaining evening. She was in her more outrageous outfits for which she changed to several back stage, but returned on cue in her standard three-inch heels, all while the audience was delighted. She was a goodhearted character, and a Pillar in our Community. She was known by another of her unusual kindnesses. Before leaving for her many buying trips,for every trip-she saved and gathered lipsticks to take to the grateful populace. It was her trademark there for decades.

Indeed, she was a Pillar in our Community, and she will be missed deeply, the Pillar has fallen, but her legacy will remain fondly in so many ways. She was the Dee Dee Duhn!

God bless you, Dee Dee, and may you rest in peace.

— LAWRENCE VON EBELER