Theresa Tess Joan Henderson Sutherland

1936 - 2015

Theresa Joan Henderson was born on the 5th day of December 1936 in Hammersmith Hospital in a borough that is part of Greater London, England. She was the daughter of Thomas Henry Henderson and Ivy Grace (Booker) Henderson. Theresa was followed in the family by brothers Alan (1939) and Kenneth (1948).

Theresa lived in Chelsea and spent a normal 3 years until the outbreak of WW11 in 1939. The next 5 years she lived through a war and the terror of a city that was being attacked. The sounds of aircraft overhead, bombs exploding in the distance and air raid shelters terrified her but she assumed that this is the way life is. After the war there were grand celebrations and street parties to mark the occasion of the war's end. Theresa blocked these bad war time experiences from her memory and was very reluctant to talk about them in later years.

After the war, Theresa completed her schooling and graduated with honors. She went on to commercial school and received her secretarial certificate. After working for 3 years, Theresa and her good friend Sheila (at age 20) thought they should see the world by taking a working vacation before settling down in London. They boarded an old Greek passenger vessel and landed in Montreal on June 25th, 1956. They had no trouble finding a job and enjoyed living in downtown Montreal. They decided in September that they had seen enough of Montreal and moved on in their travel adventure to Toronto.

Upon arrival in Toronto they found a furnished room on Spadina Avenue. Again they had no problem finding jobs - Theresa at Wood Gundy and Sheila the American Embassy. At Wood Gundy, there were many girls of Theresa's age and she immediately made a lot of good friends. Five of the girls became friends for life (They all had a luncheon reunion in Ajax in 2014). It was here that Theresa soon became Terry although she was still Theresa when she visited her family back in England.

Terry met Hugh in December 1956 and they went steady for the next year and a half. In late 1958 and 1959 all of Terry's friends were getting married including Sheila. Terry said that this is it, "we are going to get married." The wedding took place on December 12, 1959 in St. James Anglican Church in Etobicoke, Ontario.

That was the end of the planned working holiday and return to London.

Terry and Hugh rented an apartment in Etobicoke. Sharon arrived on the scene on September 29, 1960. Now with a family, Terry said that an apartment was no place to raise a family. "We searched and found a lovely new three bedroom split level with a garage in Clarkson" (Town on Lake Ontario between Port Credit and Clarkson). Two more additions to the family arrived - Joanne in 1964 and Wendy in 1966.

Hugh's work at the time was involved in converting a company's branches across North America from a manual to a computerized system. Company executives at the time decided that the majority of work was in the States and that Hugh's position would be transferred to Des Moines, Idaho. After giving it serious thought, Terry and Hugh made the decision to stay in Canada. There were very few immediate job opportunities in Toronto but Hugh was offered an attractive position in Montreal.

Terry and Hugh moved to Montreal in mid 1966 to a nice four bedroom house on a cul-de-sac in Pierrefonds, a suburb of Montreal. It was a difficult time to move with a very young family into a strange neighborhood. "Fortunately, our next door neighbor was also just transferred from Vancouver." Terry and Betty Joan became close friends. After moving from Montreal, Betty Joan and Terry exchanged long Christmas letters and phone calls for over 40 years.

Hugh was promoted by the company in 1968 and transferred to Halifax. Although Terry did not know what to expect in Halifax, she was not unhappy to leave Montreal.

Terry and Hugh looked for a house in 1968 and transferred to Halifax. They saw some in a new subdivision called Clayton Park but decided on a house on lower Doull Ave. where all the houses were just completed in the last year. "The day we moved in, several new neighbours came over and introduced themselves and asked if there was anything they could do to help. We knew then that we picked the right house."

"The people on the street were all around our age and they all had children in the same age range as our family. They were very friendly and there were social events every weekend and often during the week." Friends were made here that lasted a lifetime. Kristine, the final addition to the family arrived on July 3rd, 1969. "A bonus situation was that our children met children their own age and also made good friends."

In 1977, the company Hugh was with had lost money for a couple of years and the future was a bit uncertain. He however received an unsolicited offer of a position as General Manager of a company in Prince Edward Island. "Based on this situation and the fact that many of our good friends had moved on, we decided to accept the offer." The family moved to Charlottetown, PEI in the summer of 1977.

The children were all of school age when they moved to Charlottetown and Terry found that she finally had time on her hands. She tried a few different jobs to keep her busy. She later applied for and received a federal government job in Correctional Services. She enjoyed the job and the people she worked with very much and stayed with them for 12 years until her retirement in 1995.

Hugh and Terry bought an old cottage in Stanley Bridge on a nicely wooded waterfront lot. "Over time we expanded and modernized the cottage and cleaned the lot. We also had a separate outfitted guest cottage built which was well used."

Hugh and Terry sold the house in PEI in 1966 and moved back to Halifax where they still had many good friends. But every year for the next 18 years they would spend four summer months at the cottage enjoying lobsters and mussels, golf and socializing two or three times a week with good friends and enjoying visits from family and friends at their guest cottage.

Terry enjoyed very good heath. She was introduced to YOGA in 1970 by her good friend Barbara Edmonds. She continued to actively participate in yoga the rest of her life. She still had sessions booked at the time she became ill.

Terry unfortunately passed away very peacefully but too early after a very short illness in November 2015. Hugh and her daughters were by her side.

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SUTHERLAND, THERESA (TERRY)

Theresa (Terry) Joan Sutherland – It is with great sadness that the Sutherland Family announce the passing of Terry Sutherland on November 28, 2015. She passed away peacefully with her loving family, Hugh and their daughters: Sharon, Joanne, Wendy and Kristine by her side.

Terry was born in London, England on December 5th, 1936. She was the daughter of Thomas and Ivy Grace (Booker) Henderson. Terry came to Canada in 1956 and worked in Montreal and then Toronto where she met her husband Hugh Sutherland. Terry and Hugh lived in Toronto for eight years and then a short time in Montreal before moving to Halifax in 1968. The family then moved to Prince Edward Island in 1976. Terry worked for Correctional Services of Canada in PEI for 13 years. Upon Terry’s retirement she and Hugh returned to Halifax in 1996, but retained a waterfront cottage on New London Bay, PEI for many years where they enjoyed golf, lobsters and good times at family get togethers and with friends. During their retirement, Terry and Hugh travelled with friends to many countries and always enjoyed visiting her roots in Chelsea, England and browsing on King’s Road and Oxford Street and Peter Jones at Sloan Square. Terry is survived by her loving husband, Hugh of 56 years, and four daughters (including three sets of twin granddaughters): Sharon (Ross) MacDonald (Kelsey and James); Joanne (Ken) MacDonald (Emma, Jessica and Nicolas); Wendy (André) Roberts (Taylor and Alicia); Kristine (Todd) McKenna (Courtney, Amy and Haley); Brothers Alan Henderson (Margaret) of Camberley, England; Kenneth Henderson (Christine) of Queensland Australia. Terry wished to thank her family for their unconditional love over the years.

Terry had a lifelong passion for yoga and well being. She was an amazing mother to her four daughters and a fun loving, cool grandmother to her ten grandchildren who all adored her. She will be greatly missed by her husband and all who knew her and whose lives she touched. She had a great sense of humour and had her family laughing to the end.

Family burial and celebration of life will take place in Amherst, Nova Scotia and in London, England at later dates. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made be made to the charity of your choice. To view or send a condolence to the family please visit:www.jasnowfuneralhome.com