Theresa Marie Harnish

Theresa Marie Harnish, 40 years of age, of Norfolk, passed away on October 21, 2021. She was a General Ledger Staff Accountant for over 10 years at Damuth Trane. Theresa enjoyed traveling the world, learning about new music, being engulfed in nature, and being kissed by the sun on any scenic beach. She was an artist, an animal lover, and a glowing light to children, for which she was given the nickname "Mother T. "

Left to cherish her memory are her son Isayah Locke, his father Tory D. Locke, and his stepbrother Tory M. Locke; parents, Donald Harnish and Teresita Harnish; sister, Sharon Baker (Brett); 2 brothers, Michael Harnish (Sherri) Edward Harnish and George Nicholls; 2 nephews, Eli Nicholls and Kace Baker; and 2 nieces, Bennie Baker and Grace Darling.

The family will receive friends on Thursday, October 28, 2021, from 5-7:00 PM, at Woodlawn Funeral Home. A service for close friends and family will be private. A celebration of life memorial service, open for everyone, will be held at a later date.

To everyone who loved Theresa:

How do you prepare for death?

Well, this is how Theresa prepared. She traveled the world, met new people, and made friends everywhere she went; she made special connections and had REAL conversations with people. Theresa took every chance she had to have fun, laugh, dance, and love. She celebrated life and living on this earth. She skydived over the waters of the outer banks, sang karaoke in a transgender bar in Manila, drove a scooter all over an island in Thailand, and climbed a volcano in Hawaii. She has been in many different hot tubs, beaches, and pools on islands in the Caribbean, Mexico, cruise ships, and South America. And one of our family favorites, the outer banks. She hiked many mountains, kayaked through many waters, held many animals, and took too many pictures of all sorts of creatures. She applied for a job that would double her salary, just cause, and got it, but unfortunately declined the offer due to her health concerns. She worked hard for Duluth Trane for over ten years and her last day of work was five days before she passed away. She loved her work family dearly and her work family loved her. She learned how to ride a motorcycle, snowboard, and sail a boat. Theresa would always end up having three different birthday parties with three different cakes somehow. She celebrated every year she survived. One of her goals was to make it to 40; she did that.

Theresa had all of these adventures and accomplished so many goals while battling cancer. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2008. Ten years later, we found out cancer came back and had spread. It was determined that she was terminally ill. She had gone through numerous chemotherapies, radiation, surgeries, doctor's appointments, and second opinions. She tried everything she could. Finally, cancer took over her body, and she was unable to fight any longer. She scheduled her trips, vacations, and adventures between chemo appointments and did not let cancer stop her. She is the strongest woman I knew.

Theresa prepared for death by making memories for the people she was going to leave behind. She prepared for death by showing us all how to live. How to love each other, how to be kind, how to accept people for who they are, including all of their flaws. She brought out the real person inside of each of us by being real herself. She allowed us to be ourselves because she was going to love us anyway. Her heart was one of a kind and irreplaceable. You don’t need a diagnosis of terminal cancer to prepare for your death. We will all die one day. Prepare like Theresa. She showed us all how to do it. She had FUN, and she LOVED with every ounce of her heart. It will be tough to enjoy life without her. I want my sister back. I will have to keep reminding myself that I need to be as strong as Theresa was and to live a life worth living.

-Sharon Baker