Debbie Orton and her husband Jim are originally from the Quincy area, but have lived in Macomb since 2012.
Debbie worked at Blessing Hospital, while Jim was an independent semi driver usually driving a route to Texas and back. In 2012, Dr. Ronald Wheeler asked Debbie if she would move to Macomb and help him open a new practice. She later worked at McDonough District Hospital and retired in 2025. She continues to work for the hospital occasionally as a “sitter”, someone who stays with patients that might be agitated or afraid about being in the hospital.
Debbie’s real passion is baking, and her love for it has recently led to her obtaining a cottage license and starting her own baking business. Coming from the small town of Perry, Illinois, Debbie’s high school class had 16 students. She was able to take home economics classes and also loved participating in 4-H.
Having a mother who loved cooking and baking, Debbie learned kitchen skills early on. That passion stayed with her her entire life. Orton now runs “Deb’s Delights”, a homebased cottage bakery that specializes in breads, cinnamon rolls, pies, candies, caramel popcorn, cookies, rolls and personalized items.
By being a cottage industry, all products must be shelf ready and labeled with ingredients. Debbie’s license number is printed on the label.
While there are several homebased bakeries in Macomb, Deb’s Delights is a little different. Debbie does totally free delivery in Macomb, so your freshly baked items will be brought right to your door. She does custom orders, for example a pie can be half apple and half cherry. She takes requests for large picnics, reunions and parties with as little as a week’s notice. She runs her business completely through telephone and Facebook messenger, and works a schedule that is convenient to the customer. Debbie has been known to stay up all night baking cinnamon rolls, so that a local business could have them straight from the oven for their early morning workers.
If one watches Deb’s Delights Facebook page, they will see that there is an occasional contest where you can win a nice prize just by answering a simple preference question.
Your name is added on a spinning wheel with the chance of winning, for example, a pan of cinnamon rolls.
Debbie Orton is well-known in the area for her selfl ess volunteer participation in a global organization called “Lasagne Love”. Lasagne Love is a nonprofi t, grassroots movement aimed at feeding families, spreading kindness, and strengthening communities by delivering free, homemade meals, usually lasagne.
Founded during the pandemic, it connects volunteers with neighbors in need, reducing food insecurity and offering support without judgement, essentially providing a “virtual hug”.
Debbie also enjoys supporting the local Crimestoppers auction and the local humane society.
As far as expanding her business, she states that is not really her goal. She is not baking so much to make money as to have fun and make people happy. She is keeping quite busy with new orders and repeat customers, and would like to make her business a little more streamlined so that she can still do other things she loves, such as sewing. Debbie also helps her elderly parents, which requires weekly trips to their location.
To order from Deb’s Delights, just decide what you’re hungry for and send her a Facebook message or call her at 309-255-7843. Debbie accepts Venmo, cash or checks. And don’t stress about picking your items up, Debbie will deliver them free of charge to you.
