Teresita Edlagan Shah

Teresita Edlagan Shah was born in Manila Philippines on August 14, 1938, and passed away February 4, 2025 in Greensboro, North Carolina. Her early years were notable for living through the austerity that was widespread in the Philippines, during the Japanese occupation of World War 2. She was separated from her parents in her child as they traveled to America to build a new life. She would rejoin them at the age of 13 and went through the challenges of assimilation into a country whose language, customs and culture were so foreign to her. She grew up in Philadelphia, and after attending D’youville College in Buffalo, New York, she moved back to Philadelphia to work as a med tech, where she met her husband, Harshad. After getting married, Teresita supported her husband in his pursuit of a career in medicine in the Philippines. When she returned to America, she devoted her life raising their three children: Prachi, Sanjiv, and Rajiv. Through her husband’s training years in Massachusetts, New York, and Philadelphia, she was the anchor for the family during these challenging years. She continued her relentless dedication to the lives and education of her children as they found their scholastic calling. She deeply loved her children, and her children deeply loved her. Her life revolved around her family; she would spend her free time and complete efforts to be there for her children—shuttling them to different schools to seek more advanced learning, moving herself life halfway across the country to help support them through their college years, or bringing them hot lunch 5 days a week during their high school years. While her children were growing up, she found novel ways to help them with life’s problems. When her daughter, Prachi, was seven years old was struggling to make friends, Teresita wanted to help her. Always open to listening to the wisdom and experience of others, Teresita bought her a self-help book entitled, “How to Be Your Own Best Friend.” She gave this book to her daughter and said, “Read this, I think it will help you. You are a really good reader; I think you can get through this book in no time.” Prachi believes that if there was a sequel to the book, “A Playground for One Can be Fun,” she would have bought that too. Although she had a quirky perspective on life, she always meant well.

Her heart was indeed generous for her family but also for those around her. Her later life in her nursing home she was a beacon of joy to those around her sharing her glowing smile and kind words to uplift those around her. For the people who cared for her at Wellspring, she was much loved, and was remembered for her cheery disposition, her frequent laughter, and her concern for their well-being. She was often asking the staff if they have eaten, and would often try to share her food with them, unless the food was dessert. She had a sweet tooth, and never liked to share her dessert! She was asked one time what her favorite kind of cookie was, and she said, “My favorite kind of cookie is the one called C-O-O-K-I-E.” She was an amazing cook and enjoyed watching TV. Her greatest joy was time spent with her children and grandchildren, Abigail and Evelyn Shah.

From the moment she entered the hospital at the time of her last illness, to the moment she took her last breath, she was never alone: one of her children was by her side every minute of the day until the moment she was called Home. She loved her children, and in turn, she cultivated in their hearts, a deep love for her: a love that was manifest in proximity and fidelity to her to the very end.

Teresita’s life was characterized by a simple, deep faith, and abiding loyalty to those whom she loved. She was a devout Catholic and grew faith in God in her children. She had a great devotion to the Infant of Prague, the Divine Mercy, and St Jude – seeking constantly help from God to do the best job in guiding each of her three children properly into adult life. She celebrated her faith at St. Pius The Tenth Catholic Church in Greensboro, NC and St. Laurence Catholic Church in Sugar Land, TX.

The running joke among the Shah children was that they had to get to Mass by the Consecration - just before Jesus did … that is before the bread and wine became the Body and Blood of Christ. Although she was always late for Mass (which improved in her later years when her kids drove her to church), she always had a deep belief in the importance of the Mass, and she had a deep love of the Eucharist. She imparted in her children the importance of faith, and of living a life of goodness, always preaching to them to “be a little good and do a little good.” She most certainly did both.

Teresita gave her life and her love to her children, and she lived and reaped the words of Luke’s gospel: “Give and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap. For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you.” (Luke 6:38) Over her lifetime, Teresita poured her love and fidelity into her children, and at the end of her life, that love and fidelity were returned to her “hundred-fold.” Ever since she was moved to North Carolina in 2021, her son Rajiv faithfully looked after her and her every need. She was so well cared for, and was never in want of anything. Her son Sanjiv, and daughter Prachi came every month from Maryland and Michigan to see and be with her, and she delighted in her frequent “field trips” when her kids took her out for dinner, shopping, or the latest road-tripping adventure. “The measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you.” Like the woman in Luke’s gospel (Luke 7:47), “dilexit multum,”: she loved much, and she was much loved in return.

So now, believing in “the Hope that does not disappoint,” dear Teresita, faithful friend and lover of God, “come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” (Matt 25:34)