Teddy was born Theresa Maria Merlino in Yonkers, N.Y. on May 9, 1926. Her parents were Joseph Merlino and Mary Illingworth Merlino. She was raised with three siblings, an older brother, Joseph, a younger sister, Audrey and a younger brother, Bill.
Teddy grew up in Yonkers and attended Yonkers High School. She was then employed in the offices of Octavius Leon ,Inc. In 7th grade, Teddy met John DeDivitis, an 8th grader. They became engaged in 1947 and were married August 7, 1948. She later was employed at Immaculate Conception School in Tuckahoe, N.Y.
During this time, they fell in love with Candlewood Lake in Connecticut and decided, after being told they would probably not have children, to build a rustic cabin on a wooded lot. With her father's construction experience and John's engineering expertise, this was accomplished in 1952. They lived in Yonkers in a tiny apartment above Teddy's parents and spent many weekends and vacations at the lakehouse.
In 1961, her first child, John Gerard was born. She called him her "impossible dream" and was beyond thrilled. Teddy and John realized their little family was outgrowing their apartment, so they bought a house in Eastchester, NY and moved out of the apartment. Three years later, Teddy and John welcomed a daughter, Krista, in 1964. For many years, Teddy was active with her children's activities and her friends and neighbors while John commuted to Manhattan every day to his job at Bechtel.
In 1976, John was transferred to Edmonton, Alberta, Canada where the family made their home. A year later, Bechtel transferred them to Houston. Here, Teddy was an active member at St. John Vianney Catholic Church, as well as the Bechtel Wives Club. She loved being a homemaker and being there for her children. Many times, John and Krista's friends would "just happen to appear" at dinnertime, hoping "Mrs. D" was serving one of her famous Italian dinners. Teddy was always eager to socialize, whether it be playing bingo, attending singalongs or other events at St. John Vianney. She was also a huge fan of shopping, acquiring quite the collection of shoes and jewelry!
When John and Krista got a little older, Teddy returned to work part time. She worked at The Original Christmas Store during the Christmas season, earning a reputation for being the "bow lady" as she made all the bows on all the trees in the store! Later, she worked with her neighbors and friends at Calligraphy by Cookie Sutter, sharing many fun times. She and John also loved to travel, visiting such places as Mexico and Italy. They enjoyed vacationing in Naples, Florida for many winters, and always returned to Lake Candlewood for a summer vacation, and for a few years, also went in the fall, enjoying visiting their New York family and friends as well as the New England foliage.
In 1996, the first two of Teddy's five grandchildren were born, starting a whole new phase of Teddy's life. She loved spending time with them, hearing of their accomplishments and beaming with pride.
Teddy is survived by her brother, Bill Merlino. She leaves behind her son, John and daughter-in-law, Lorri DeDivitis, and her daughter, Krista and son-in-law Joe Goethals as well as her five grandchildren, Hannah and Sam DeDivitis and Jeremy, Corey and Jenna Goethals.
The family would like to thank Jennifer Norman for her unfailing dedication, care, love and friendship she offered Teddy. She promised Teddy and John before John passed away that she would always be there for Teddy and she was true to her word. They would also like to thank the staff at The Abbey at Westminster Plaza for giving Teddy five more years of life and making her happy again. What a delight it was to see her playing bingo and attending singalongs again with her friends.
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