She was born on March 1, 1931, in Villahermosa, Tolima, Colombia to her parents Abel Florez and Elvira Vallejo de Florez. The seventh of eight children, she was raised by her family with a love of learning.
To finish high school, she received special permission to complete her studies at the boy’s high school, as their was no girl high school’s in her town. She went to university, along with her sisters, as well as her brothers, at a time that it was rare for women to go to university. A testament to her parent’s vision.
She began her studies in engineering, where she was the first woman in her faculty, after her first year she switched to medicine. She was the first woman to graduate from the Universidad de Caldas in medicine. While studying in medical school, she met her life long love, Juan Eberto Blanco, and they married in 1964. Throughout their over 50 years together, he always called her “ Cari” short for cariño (darling).
In 1966 they both came to New York to do their medical residencies, joining her sister, Emma and her husband Norman. Soon, she was joined by her sisters Ines and Elvira, and their respective husbands, Jairo Toro and Hernando Arias, forming the nucleus of the family that played such an important role in the lives of the following generation.
Following her residency, Teresa, opened her medical practice in family medicine in the Bronx, having a long and lasting impact on the neighborhood and her patients.
In the 1980’s she joined her husband’s medical practice in Manhattan on the upper West Side, where the couple worked among the growing Latin immigrant community. She had a great impact on her patients and was passionate about her profession as a doctor, continuing to practice till she was 83.
In addition to being a trail blazer for so many women, and her successful career, she was a very caring mom. Together with Juan they created a home environment where her children always felt a love and caring environment, always staying close to each of her children through out her long life. They were generous and always supportive to their children.
She will be most remembered for her love of life! She loved to sing, travel, and to dance, especially to dance! She loved to share these passions with her family and her friends. She lived her life with gusto and never gave up, even when life was depressingly difficult, she had an incredible strength, that stayed with her to the very end.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Dr. Juan Eberto Blanco, her brothers, Jorge and Alfonso, and her sisters Elvira and Ines. She is survived by her children, William Eberto Blanco, Robert John Blanco, and Katherine Theresa Blanco; her daughters-in-law, Geri Blanco-Bose and Rosalba Valencia; her granddaughters, Emilie Kamilia Blanco-Bose and Maya Kalyani Bose; and her sisters Margarita Florez, Emma Florez Robles and Elena Florez Cardona.
Visitation will be held at Quinn Fogarty Funeral Home, 192-15 Northern Boulevard, Flushing, NY 11358, on Saturday, October 24, 2026 and on Sunday, October 25, 2026, from 3:00 pm to 7:00 pm.
A Funeral Mass will take place at Mary's Nativity - St. Ann Parish, 46-02 Parsons Blvd, Flushing, NY 11355, on Monday October 26, 2026, from 9:45 am to 10:30 am.
A Committal Service will follow at Mount St. Mary Cemetery, 172-00 Booth Memorial Ave, New York, NY 11365.
