East Lansing - Therese Catherine Lynett Bergeson, a longtime resident of East Lansing, Michigan died on December 7, 2018, in Evanston, Illinois. She was 93. Therese was born on July 30, 1925, in Detroit, Michigan. She was the daughter of Joseph Lynett, an immigrant from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, who became a U.S. citizen after serving in World War I, and Mary Agnes Coll of Sharon, Pennsylvania - both of them attracted to the booming city of Detroit. Therese graduated from St. Mary's Commercial High School in Detroit, awarded proficiency prizes in shorthand and typing. She interned at the Chancery of the Archdiocese of Detroit and accepted an offer to work there after graduation in 1943. In 1945, at a USO Ball at which she served as a hostess at the Statler Hotel in Detroit, Therese met Thomas Bergeson of Fargo, North Dakota, who was with the Army Air Corps stationed at Selfridge Field outside Detroit. He was in flight training on the B-24 airplane for service in World War II. The war ended and Tom stayed in Detroit to court Therese. On October 1, 1949, they were married at St. Theresa's Church, and honeymooned in New England, Montreal, and Quebec. They lived in the Detroit area with their family until 1967 when they relocated to the Lansing area for Tom's job. Therese went on to complete her bachelor's degree at Michigan State University and then attained a master's degree in Human Development and Family Studies. She worked at MSU for several years in the adult and lifelong education department, counseling older adult students returning to school and the challenges that presented. An avid traveler, she visited Japan, England, France, Spain and Italy on various trips with her daughters and son, as well as several trips to California, Florida and the East Coast. She especially enjoyed her trips to visit dear family friend Susan Schuster and her daughter Sarah Zaidan in Chernex (Montreux), Switzerland. Therese was a lifelong fan of all Detroit sports teams, especially the Detroit Tigers and the Detroit Red Wings. She enjoyed sports up until the end of her life. She was also an accomplished speed skater who grew up skating on the outdoor rinks in Detroit. Therese was a longtime member of the University Club of MSU and a supporter of the MSU sports teams, much to the chagrin of her grandson John who is currently a senior at the University of Michigan. Her beloved husband, Tom, left this life on February 2, 2013, and Therese lived in Evanston, Illinois, from then on to be closer to family. She was actively involved in the art program at her residence, and discovered a talent and proclivity for art that she pursued throughout the rest of her life. Tom and Therese had five children: Anne Marie (Robert Gaybrick) of Washington, D.C. ; Patricia Therese of Chicago; Lynn Louise (Ingrid Hansen) of Chevy Chase, Maryland ; Daniel Joseph (Diana Bergeson) of Portola Valley, California; and Mary Alice of Evanston, and thirteen grandchildren - Jeb, Will, Andrew (Sydney Scott), and Jack Gaybrick; Katherine Mary Hayes (Nick Dreckshage); Claire and Lorentz Hansen; Samantha and John Daniel Bergeson; and Jessica Meller (Tony) Schirmang; Caitlin, Rachel, and Emma Meller; as well as two former sons-in-law of whom she was fond: Thomas Hayes and Richard Meller. Three great-grandchildren also survive her: Olivia Grace, Paige Elizabeth, and Thomas Anton Schirmang. To all who knew her, Therese had a joie de vivre and love of life that did not wane as she grew older. A lifelong Democrat, she occasionally crossed the aisle to vote for whom she thought was the best candidate. She as well as her late husband were active in the civil rights movement in the 1960s, and involved in other social justice causes through the years. Therese had been a longtime parishioner of St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in East Lansing before she located to the Chicago area. The family wishes to extend its heartfelt thanks to her devoted and loving caregivers over the past several years, and to the staff of Mather Pavilion, later Symphony of Evanston. Special thanks to Pamela Rounds and Bonnie Taylor of Lansing; Rizalina Price of Manila, the Philippines; and Virginia Tanala of Chicago. We are deeply grateful for the respect, comfort and care you provided her. Funeral Mass will be celebrated by Bishop Earl Boyea at 10:00 AM on Thursday, December 13, at St. Mary Cathedral, 219 Seymour Ave., Lansing. The Rite of Committal will follow at St. Joseph Cemetery, 2520 W. Willow St., Lansing. Therese's life will be remembered and celebrated at a luncheon after the burial at the Kellogg Center of MSU, the Casey Room, 219 S. Harrison Rd., East Lansing.
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