Teresa P Cales

Teresa Progressa Cales was born on May 27, 1933, in Chicago, Illinois, to Amalia (née Calomino) and Andrea Rossiano as the youngest of four children. Her parents immigrated from Italy with hopes of a new and more prosperous life in America, reflected by their naming their newborn daughter for the Century of Progress World Fair held in Chicago that year. Following high school in Chicago, Teresa was introduced by a friend to a handsome long distance truck driver from West Virginia, William (Bill) Cales, who she married after a brief courtship. They originally made their home in Hammond, but as their family grew, Teresa and Bill moved to the Bridgeport neighborhood of Chicago to provide better employment prospects for Bill. Unfortunately, Bill’s truck driving required him to be gone frequently, forcing Teresa to raise her young family largely on her own.

Teresa especially loved the gentle crooning of Dean Martin. Her kitchen radio provided an ever-present “soundtrack” for her children and their friends. Teresa’s pasta sauces were memorable, as were the fresh gnocchi that she and her mother Amalia made by hand then spread on fresh sheets over every available bed to air dry as in the “old country.” An annual outing to the Ringling Brothers Circus was a much-anticipated tradition in the family. Teresa would dress her children in their best clothes and, with tickets provided by their local alderman, then march them single file the many blocks to the International Amphitheater. While pregnant with her fifth child, a Fourth of July fireworks accident left her severely burned and required a hospital stay of many months. By force of will she carried her young daughter, now a nurse, to term. In spite of the hardships she faced, Teresa always kept her children’s welfare foremost. In later years, Teresa enjoyed vacations with her children and their families. An especially memorable trip with her daughters fulfilled Teresa’s life-long wish to visit her mother’s birthplace in Calabria, Italy. Teresa was the bedrock and moral compass by which her family lived. She was especially proud that each of her eight children grew to be successful adults and that many went on to complete college, as have their children.

Teresa, age 90, entered into eternal rest quietly in her sleep just before dawn on Friday November 24th, 2023. Teresa is preceded in death by her husband Bill, her parents Amalia and Andrea Rossiano, her brother Jack Rossiano, and her sister Josephine Kopp. Those left to cherish Teresa’s memory and legacy include brother James Rossiano of Schererville, Indiana, and Teresa’s sons and daughters: William Cales and wife Fran of Lemont, Illinois; Linda Cales and husband Dr. Arthur Haas of New Orleans, Louisiana; David Cales of Chicago, Illinois; Michael Cales and wife Jerolee of Hinton, West Virginia; Laura and husband David Gasper of Griffith, Indiana; Diane and husband Tony Marcucci of Carol Stream, Illinois; Barbara and husband Anton Griesenhofer of St. Francis, Wisconsin; and Leslie and husband William Figg of St. John, Indiana. Teresa is also survived by eighteen grandchildren and thirteen great grandchildren, all of whom she cherished.

Visitation will be held on Wednesday, November 29th, 2023, from 4:00-8:00 PM, at KUIPER FUNERAL HOME, 9039 Kleinman Road, Highland, IN 46322. Mass will take place on Thursday, November 30th, 2023, at 10:30 AM at St. James the Less Catholic Church, 9640 Kennedy Avenue, Highland, IN 46322. She will be laid to rest immediately following at Chapel Lawn Funeral Home and Memorial Gardens, 8178 Cline Avenue, Crown Point, IN 46307.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations in memory of Teresa Cales to the William J. Riley Memorial Residence Hospice of the Calumet, 511 Otis Bowen Drive, Munster, Indiana 46321 in grateful recognition of their loving care in her final days.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.KuiperFH.com for the Cales family.