Theresa was a resourceful and loving wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother who cared deeply for her family and lived her life to the fullest. She was fiercely independent, quick witted and had a fiery personality, but was also quick to smile and could light up a room with her presence, her warm personality and her sharp sense of humor.
Born in the farming community of Selfridge, North Dakota, on Christmas Day of 1939, Theresa was the daughter and grand-daughter of German-Russian immigrants who left Odessa, Russia, in hopes of finding new opportunities in the United States. She was the 11th of 12 children. After meeting her future husband, Chris Jefferson, who she married in Oklahoma in 1967, Theresa and her first child, Phyllis, moved with him from Montana to Arizona, where the promise of warmer weather guided them away from the frigid temperatures in the north. In Phoenix, she had her sons, Scott and Jamie, and they bought a home in a now-historic area of central Phoenix. When they began to outgrow the house, the family made plans to expand it and it was Theresa who set the bricks, laid the tile and worked late into the evening to make the house a home. She was resourceful and eager to learn, and never let anything she didn’t know stop her from learning more. Later in life, she would apply this to stained glass, ceramics, woodworking, quilting and other skills, all of which she excelled at.
After the passing of Chris in 2002, she remained active. She traveled, took cruises with her sister Lizzy, bought a jet ski at 82 years old, and would routinely participate in Route 66 car events in her 1965 Mustang. She also took frequent trips back to North Dakota to visit siblings and their expanding families. With two grown grandchildren, Michael and Jason, she was surprised with a new grandson, Wyatt, later in life. Although she proclaimed she wouldn’t be a babysitter, her and Wyatt became fast friends and bonded. They were inseparable until the very end.
Theresa was a devoted Catholic and she was also a longtime employee of the Creighton Elementary School District, where she served in the district’s cafeteria department, including at Loma Linda Elementary School, where she was the cafeteria manager. Former students and colleagues remember her kindness and compassion, as well as her ability to run a tight ship behind the scenes at the school. Theresa was also fond of animals: she kept koi in her backyard pond and also had a turtle, Ike, and new golden retriever, Sam.
As her health began to fail, Theresa was at peace with her life and enjoyed visiting with her family with the time she had left. Even at the very end, she was fiercely independent and wanted to do things her way. She was confident all her life, never wavering and always sure of her abilities. She loved and was loved.
Theresa is preceded in death by her husband, Chris Jefferson. She is survived by her children, Phyllis Clawson, Scott Jefferson and Jamie Jefferson, all of Phoenix, as well as three grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
A Memorial Service and Celebration of Life for Theresa will be held Saturday, September 28, 2024 at 2:00 PM at A.L. Moore-Grimshaw Mortuaries, in the Palo Verde venue at 710 West Bethany Home Road, Phoenix, Arizona 85013.
By clicking the link below you can view the recorded services on Zoom
https://us06web.zoom.us/rec/share/W55GBXKhhJ6PmHfZINoxlcXh4Hf4jTfqw4Shgm-Wr3yv5IM8vHfKzynYWxGDfw-I.LfIiy7k-fDjUucQQ?startTime=1727556024000
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