Therese Boulos Nasr

Our beloved mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother Therese Boulos Nasr passed away peacefully in her sleep on September 11, 2021 surrounded by her family. She was “Teta'' to her grandchildren and “emm Roger'' to her dear friends. Therese was born to Boulos and Mariam Nasr on July 20, 1931 in Sabbah, Lebanon. She married Elias Nasr on her birthday and the feast of St. Elias, July 20, 1948. Together they raised a beautiful family of three sons and two daughters in Zouk Mkael, Lebanon.

Therese studied sewing as a young woman and became a masterful seamstress. She enjoyed making dresses for her daughters, sisters, and friends and later her daughters-in-law and granddaughters. However, what gave her the most pleasure was cooking. Her Lebanese food was famously delicious and sharing it with whoever came over was her greatest delight.

Life was not easy for Therese. Being the eldest sibling, she helped care for her brothers and sisters when her parents had to work in Beirut, away from their home village of Sabbah. In 1971, she lost her 17-year-old daughter Benigna to cancer. Her oldest son was studying in Massachusetts, USA when the Lebanese Civil War (1975-1990) upended the family and scattered her children all over the world: two sons in the USA, another son in Australia, and her daughter in Canada. After Therese’s husband died unexpectedly on March 6, 1988, Therese left Lebanon and her home and moved to Austin, Texas to live with her son and his family. Despite all these hardships she took every day as a blessing from God.

Therese made many friends in Austin and even reunited with a childhood friend she had not seen for 40 years. She enjoyed her independence at her own home in Pflugerville, Texas where she tended her mint garden and her incredibly productive lemon tree, and continued to cook for friends and family. Always young at heart and a social butterfly there wasn’t a “hafli” (party) she would miss. Because she could not stay away too long from her children and family, Therese traveled every summer to Montreal and quite a few times to Australia and Lebanon. She was also able to visit the shrine of her patron saint, Saint Therese of Lisieux in France, which was a dream come true for her.

A woman of strong faith, Therese prayed the rosary daily and never missed the Maronite mass on television. Attending Sunday mass was sacred to her as well as praying for all those in need. The first thing she said when she saw you or said good-bye was “God bless you and your family,” sometimes listing as many family members as she could recall. She was generous and gave more than she could ever afford.

Therese was preceded in death by her parents, her daughter Benigna, her husband Elias, her newborn grandson Daniel, sister Samia, brothers Cesar and Louis. She is survived by her son Roger and wife María from Austin, TX; her son André and wife Mary Beth from Lagrangeville, NY; son Charles and wife Fadia from Castle Hill, NSW, Australia; daughter Marie Ange and husband Joseph Fadel from Montreal, Canada; her sister Alice, her half-brother Tony, and her stepmother Rahil, all from Lebanon; ten grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren; and many cousins, nieces and nephews scattered around the world.

We thank our friends Georgette Helou and Lena Bourjaily, for the loving attention and care they provided Therese during her last few months as nurses at Heritage Park, as well as Therese’s Hospice Austin team. Due to COVID-19 and family member’s medical reasons, the funeral services will be private, with plans for a celebration of her life at a future date. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, or your favorite charity.

To know Teta Therese was to love her. She will be dearly missed by many.

Therese's private funeral services will be live streamed so our family and friends can join us virtually.

Date: Tuesday, September 21, 2021

Rosary: 9:15 AM CST

Funeral Mass: 10 AM CST

Use the following link to access the stream starting at 9 AM CST: https://vimeo.com/604957918.