Theresa Dury Botts was born on March 21, 1941 to Frederick William and Mary Louise Dury, of Nashville, TN. She was the middle child of three girls; her older sister being, Rita Dury West, who now resides in Alpharetta, GA, and younger sister, Joyce Dury Foster, of Ashland City who passed away in 2019. All three girls attended Assumption School in the Germantown district of Nashville and attended St. Cecilia Academy for high school. The three sisters were fondly known as The Dury Girls. They, however, considered themselves in later years, as “The Golden Girls” after the popular sitcom, having been best friends in addition to being sisters.
After graduating from high school, Theresa worked at National Life in downtown Nashville, and later became a full-time homemaker several years after marrying “the boy up the street,” Kenneth Earl Botts, on May 29, 1964. Her husband often said jokingly that he knew Theresa was meant for him the first time he saw her as a young girl, making “mud biscuits” in her backyard. He loved her cooking, especially her homemade biscuits.
Theresa and her husband had two children, Jan Botts Hicks, who is married to Timothy S. Hicks and lives in Charlotte, TN, and Kenneth Eric Botts, of Mt. Juliet, TN. Theresa had a loving marriage to Kenneth until he passed away in 1991. From that day forward, Theresa and her children made a promise to always look out for each other.
In addition to Theresa’s immediate family, her love extended to her sisters’ families. She considered her nieces and nephews her children as well, and her sisters felt the same about hers. While Theresa had a small family, all are very, very close. As such, there are many “Aunt Theresa” stories!
One such story was Theresa joined her younger sister and companion in attending a Civil War Reenactment years back. She was following them to a sideline location to watch the performance. A few minutes later, her sister turns around and says, “Where’s Theresa?” They looked around and found Theresa in the middle of the battlefield hanging on to the drummer boy, as he marched. Apparently, she lost her footing and grabbed on to the closest arm to stabilize her. Theresa put her own mark on history that day!
Theresa’s life exemplified her love for the Lord, family, friends, and everyone she met. She was often referred to by friends as that “Little Sweet Theresa” after St. Therese, The Little Flower. St. Therese stated in her autobiography that “she lived each day with an unshakable confidence in God's love” and love for others. St. Therese loved flowers and saw herself as “The Little Flower of Jesus living among the other flowers in God’s garden.” Like St. Therese, Theresa also appeared to others as a little flower, a beautiful person who brought love and joy to others.
Through her strong faith, Theresa took in stride every challenge that life brought. She was diagnosed at age 38 with Multiple Sclerosis. She lived every day with quiet acceptance as her disease progressed, often saying, “C’est la vie”, French for “That’s life. She never complained and was always grateful for God’s blessings.
Loving thoughts from her closest family members are:
In her daughter’s words,
“Every day that I had with my mother was truly a gift from God. She was loving, gentle, selfless, and kind, and she loved my brother and me immensely. She taught us to love God and trust in Him by bringing us up in our faith. She taught us the importance of family and to know right from wrong. She nurtured us as any loving mother would. She looked out for my brother and me up until her last day. Even as she was fading from life in the end, she always would ask ME how I felt! This was the kind of mother, my Mom was. She never complained and lived life faithfully and with courage. She will ALWAYS be someone I look up to in life. I miss her greatly and will carry her in my heart until I see her again in Heaven.”
Her son commenteds that his Mom was the best, saying “she was such an integral part of my life.” Eric was her primary caregiver through the years. Once, he was asked by a friend, why he took complete care of his mother. He replied, “Because she is worth it.” “I loved my mother deeply. I will miss her very much.”
“In all of our life, Theresa has always been sweet, kind, generous, and loving towards others,” her sister Rita reflected. “She was always forgiving.”
Theresa’s son-in-law, Timothy, commented, “Mama Botts (as he called her), was an amazing woman, unlike anyone I’ve ever met. I loved her so much. My heart is broken to have lost her, but I know she is with her Heavenly Father.”
Theresa is also survived by nieces and nephews, Natalie West Hutchens (Bill), of Alpharetta, GA; Rhonda Foster Ellis (Joe), of Joelton, TN; Theresa Foster Polk (Steve), of Ashland City, TN; Bryan Frederick West (Marnie), of Birmingham, AL; Gregory Keith West (Christy), of Trustville, AL, and many great nieces and nephews. She is also preceded in death by aunt, Sister Albertine, O.P., of Nashville, TN; . nephew, George Samuel Foster, Jr., of Nashville, TN, and great niece, Rachel Polk, of Kingston Springs, TN.
Gathering of family and friends will be held on January 15, 2021, 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm at Marshall-Donnelly-Combs Funeral Home, 201 25th Ave North, Nashville, TN. A visitation will also be held on January 16, 2021, 10 am at St. Mary’s Catholic Church, 330 Fifth Ave N, Nashville, TN, followed by a Funeral Mass, officiated by Father Jayd Neeley. Pall bearers are nephews, Bryan F. West, Gregory K. West, Steven C. Polk, Jr., Frederick W. Polk, Andrew C. Polk, Joe Ellis, and family friend, Rickey Boyd.
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