Teresa married me in 1987. We had
12 wonderful years together. It took a few hours of walking and talking
with the elder who conducted her funeral to just begin to describe the wonder
that was Teresa, and the joy
of those years. I have described her as being the heart of all creation. Others
knew her as well as a gentle
woman who could always inspire others, always make sadness a little easier
to bear and make joy all the
more sweet. Before we really met, I made inquiries about her, and I will never
forget an old friend of her
family who described her as a "living doll." She saw the beauty
in nearly everything, and kept me whole
during some very trying times in my life. I also knew her as a woman of keen
intellect and a lover of life.
When she was diagnosed with uterine
cancer, we thought for a while we had every chance of beating it.
Unfortunately, time revealed that her disease was not discovered until in
very advanced stages; many other
health problems hampered treatment still further, and we had to accept that
the cancer was terminal.
Teresa died at home, peacefully. I believe her largest concern was leaving
me alone. She was a person of
rare and astonishing beauty.
Teresa was one of Jehovah's Witnesses,
as am I. She served for a few years as a full time evangelizer,
known as a "pioneer", before growing health problems (not related
to her later cancer) made this service
impossible. One thing that was a comfort to her was knowing that she would
would be resurrected in the
future, when God has cleansed this Earth of all sin and all suffering. The
hope of God's Kingdom has been a
great comfort to both of us. Some of the scriptures that were of help to us
can be found at John 5:28, 29
and Revelation 21: 1-4. If you want to know more about these things, feel
free to ask one of Jehovah's
Witnesses - there are many of us, in all parts of the Earth, and we are very
happy to share our hope with
you.
I have included some links here. There are two pages of photographs. Each
is a rather large image and
takes a couple minutes to load.
The first is from our lives together.
The second is is a collection of pictures of her growing up.
I have added a page of three short verses I wrote for our tenth wedding anniversary, and a page with a poem I wrote after Teresa died.
