Terralissa Ann (Schuessler, Lee) Eastburn

She is preceded in death by her mother, Anne Schuessler, her stepfather, and several cousins.

Left behind to cherish her memory are her husband, William Eastburn (60), daughter, Kristin Giersdorf (32), bonus daughters, Jessica Rucker (34) and Sarah Eastburn (29), sons-in-law, Erik Giersdorf (32) and Corey Rucker (34), grandchildren, Barrett Giersdorf (9), Leo Giersdorf (6), Maia Rucker (6), and Xavier Rucker (4), and her Aunt Judith and cousins Carmen, Adrienne, Rhonda, Jonell, Darcy, and Selena.

Terralissa was a passionate, kind, creative, generous, and intelligent woman. She lived life to its fullest, always striving to pursue her goals and make time for her passions. She had a beautiful voice and loved to sing and write songs. She was passionate about horses. She was a practical joker who loved to make people laugh. She had fantastic luck at winning contests and drawings. Terralissa loved to travel and lived in Iceland for two years as a Navy brat, was a foreign exchange student to Chile in high school, was stationed at Oahu, Hawaii for four years, and traveled to Mexico, New Zealand, and Costa Rica. She was a polyglot who learned a smidgeon of Icelandic as a child, studied French in high school, became fluent in Spanish while studying abroad, and minored in Italian at the University of Arizona. Terralissa was also an Army Veteran, worked in signal intelligence and military intelligence, and was an instructor at the United States Army Intelligence Center.

After her metastatic breast cancer diagnosis, she fought relentlessly to gain more time with her beloved husband, children, and grandchildren. Even through the pain, she strived to live life to the fullest until the very end. She hated the term “bucket list” but did have a life list. She crossed many items off her life list, the most recent being renewing her wedding vows with her husband on September 19, 2022.

Terralissa would want everyone to be vigilant about breast cancer screening. She never missed a mammogram and even paid extra for 3D mammograms. Her last mammogram occurred only two weeks before her Stage 4 breast cancer diagnosis and came back normal. Unfortunately, for women with dense breast tissue, mammograms are not enough. Ultrasounds should also be used for screening. In honor of her memory, in addition to recommended screenings like self-exams and mammograms, please learn your breast tissue density level and advocate for ultrasounds if you have dense breast tissue.

Services will take place on Monday, November 14, 2022, at 10:30 am at Memorial Gardens in Colorado Springs. Interment will follow at noon at Pikes Peak National Cemetery. Afterward, a reception will occur at the American Legion Post 209 in Colorado Springs.