Therese Rita VanWormer

Therese was born in Saint Johns, Michigan, to Alphonse Caudy and Agnes (Kuchar) at their family business “The Bush Steam Laundry” and was one of 10 children all of whom have preceded her in death.

She married Kenneth Spitzley Sr. in December of 1942 and proceeded to have 10 children together (7 sons and 3 daughters): Agnes, aka Dolly Cairns (Larry), Kenneth Spitzley Jr. (Evelyn), Michael Spitzley (Diann), James Spitzley (Jill), Raymond Spitzley, Gerald, aka Jerry Spitzley (Rusty), Peter Spitzley (Tina Pritchard), Douglas Spitzley (Coreena), Therese aka Tessy Skiffington (Ronald Jr.), and Elizabeth aka Lisa Schroeder (Bob). Following Kenneth’s passing, she married William R. VanWormer, aka Buster, and they had 3 more daughters: Ellen Siel (Danny), BillieJo Kersjes (Pat), and Jeanette Doll (John).

Therese was preceded in death by 6 loving sons/daughters-in-law, Larry, Jill, Rusty, Carol, Danny and Pat.

Therese was the mother of 13, grandmother of 33, great-grandmother of 44, and great-great-grandmother of 7. She was preceded in death by 7 loving grandchildren, James, Laura, Savena, Scott, Steven, Angelea, and Tim.

Therese had a very active life, starting work at a young age in the family laundry business, a waitress at Walker’s restaurant, and an evening cleaning lady at the State Bar of Michigan. She then joined the Lansing School District as a volunteer and later was hired as an instructional aid working at many of the schools within the district, where she retired at the age of 70. All this while acting as the secretary for over 35 years for her husband’s well-drilling business. Quite the accomplishment for someone with an 8th-grade education and she made a positive impact on so many children during her life.

After retirement, Therese continued to be active with her crafts, sewing clothes for dolls and grandchildren, baking treats, quilting, flower gardening, reading, puzzles, and serving as President of the Ladies Auxiliary for V.F.W. post 717 in Saint Johns, where she was a lifelong member. She was also a member of the Red Hat Society. Many of her summers were spent at the family cabin making crafts, enjoying nature, and traveling with first her children and later with her grandchildren.

Therese, being a devout Catholic, was for many years, a prominent figure in the front row of The Catholic Community of St. Jude’s eleven o’clock Mass. This is where she received the affectionate nickname “The Hat Lady”. She wore a different hat each Sunday, and through the years her collection grew to over 60 hats.

Therese was a very strong woman who instilled the strength of conviction, the importance of helping others, a strong work ethic, and the importance of family. She was “strong to the end”, achieving her final goal of reaching her 100th birthday this past September.

Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10:00 am Friday, December 12, 2025, at Catholic Community of St. Jude, with visitation from 9:00 am until the time of Mass. The family will receive friends at Gorsline Runciman Funeral Homes DeWitt Chapel from 5:00-8:00 pm on Thursday, with the rosary prayed at 7:30 pm.

A livestream of the Mass can be viewed at http://webcast.funeralvue.com/events/viewer/118219

In Lieu of flowers donations may be made to DeWitt’s Catholic Community of St. Jude’s “Wish List”.

Attn: Wish List

Catholic Community of St Jude

801 N Bridge Street

DeWitt, MI 48820