Theresa C. Malysa

Theresa (Terry) Malysa, passed away in Palos Heights, Illinois on January 15, 2025. She is survived by her sons John Malysa (Susan) and William Malysa, and her three granddaughters Ella, Ava and Julia. Her partner of over 40 years, J. Rex Bendigkeit passed away in 2021 and her brother Michael (Mike) Murray passed away in 2022.

Theresa Catherine Murray was born at Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan, New York on March 7, 1942, to Suzanne Boyer (Paris, France) and Michael Murray (New York City, New York). Terry and her family early on experienced a peripatetic lifestyle moving between war torn France where her mother’s family lived and New York City where her father grew up until settling in Villefranche-sur-Mer in the French Riviera once World War Two ended. Both parents died, ironically at the age of 52 though eight years apart, during Terry and Mike’s childhood with her father passing away in 1949 on Terry’s 7th birthday. After his death the family moved back to the U.S. and settled in Miami, Florida where her mother worked as a nurse. In 1957 their mother passed away from cancer leaving Terry and Mike orphaned and sent to live with their Aunt Mary and Uncle John Murray in Parkchester, The Bronx, NY where she attended Saint Helena High School (now known as Monsignor Scanlan HS). After graduation, she was awarded a YWCA scholarship and attended the University of Miami (FL) where she graduated from the business school.

After graduation, she married Ken Malysa in 1963 and moved to the southwest suburbs of Chicago, settling in Palos Heights, raising two children, later enrolling in The John Marshall Law School (now known as the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law) and was admitted to the Illinois State Bar Association. She established her family law practice in the southwest suburbs and ultimately settled in Orland Park where she practiced for the next 40 plus years.

Terry was a competitive athlete who excelled on the local suburban tennis circuit and was also an enthusiastic biker and cross-country skier. After many years in Palos Heights, Crystal Tree Country Club became her home, where she had many friends and was able to pursue her passion for golf. She became an avid golfer, winning several club championships and playing on the Crystal Tree woman’s travel golf team for many years.

She was a loving, generous and devoted mother, grandmother and friend. She loved to travel overseas with Rex and was also a passionate reader. Most of all she cherished spending time with her family and friends. Terry touched the lives of so many and was always there for her loved ones at a moment’s notice. Her vibrance, boundless energy and beautiful smile will be missed by all who knew her.