Teresa DeClement Haik

Teresa DeClement Haik, came into her family as the caboose on January 11, 1960, known to be a little bitty firecracker (similar to an Italian man) and Mother Teresa because of how sweet she was all the time (only her siblings know how the two co-existed), and departed this world on December 31, 2025, after a long, hard, courageous battle against cancer, surrounded by the two loves of her life, husband, John Haik, and son, John Elias (Eli) Haik II. Those dates will always mean something special for our family, but it was the life she led and the memories we had with her, between those dates that have made us miss her so much more.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Nick DeClement and Mary Helen Morgan DeClement; brother, Bill DeClement; and sister, Debi Grace.

Teresa is survived by her husband, love of her life, and best friend, John Haik. Talk about a woman smitten about her husband; she never shy-ed away from telling everyone about the "overly expensive jewelry" he spoiled her with, or the beautiful tops that he somehow always picked out himself, even when she said "John, quit spending money on that for me!" Teresa was also survived by her son, John Elias (Eli) Haik II (Jennah Eddins). Being a mama, was by far her favorite role in life. At age 35, she was able to welcome her son into this world, saying "if he was an ounce heavier, I couldn't have done it". She was also survived by her brothers: Bill DeClement (Dee); Nick DeClement, Jr. (Rebecca); sister: Brenda Lynch (late Kerry Lynch); Brother and Sister-In-Laws: Charles and Kerry Haik, Bill and Betty Haik, and Lottie Tillman; a plethora of nieces and nephews; and her two dogs, Scooby and Sweet Girl, who we already know are missing her.

Teresa grew up in Indianola, Mississippi on a peach farm, and commonly referred to herself as a "Delta Girl". Growing up as the baby to 5 siblings, of course they treated her as any older siblings would. One story Teresa told often was when she around 4 years old, her loving older brothers, David and Nicky, thought that she would make a great hunting dog. Yes, you heard that right. The boys were trying to hunt rabbits that were in a field of tall grass, so they told Teresa to go run through the field to get the rabbits to come out, and they would shoot the rabbits as they started running out…Teresa chasing them. If only Mama Helen knew what they were doing to her baby.

Teresa went to college, where she graduated as a lab technician and worked in various hospitals throughout her career. Once she had Eli, she began her new career as a mom. As Eli grew older, she started a newfound career, where she worked for 15 years at Edward Jones.

Teresa was always known to be a wonderful cook; from her well-known lasagna, chili, jellies, jams, Christmas cheese balls to her orange cake, cheddar biscuits, and so many other things, everything was divine. The secret to it all may shock some of you…but apparently, a lot of her recipes came from Bells Cookbook (with her own twist to things of course). Speaking of food, Teresa ate the smallest portions at the SLOWEST pace…unless it was Five Guys…she ate that pretty quickly. Likely because John refused to pay those outlandish prices for a burger, and it would be a cold day (or something like that) before he purchased them.

Teresa had many hobbies. Quilting, cooking, baking, gardening, having super clean floors, talking to her sister Brenda on the phone, and keeping John's antics in check, to name a few. Every morning, you could find her on her way to Cups for her morning coffee, with her 100lb bull mastiff, Scooby.

Teresa will always be known for being generous and kind to everyone and being a loving mother and wife. Although our hearts will always miss her, we know she is in heaven listening to Jazz music and Bad Bad Leroy Brown, watching over each and every one of us.

A visitation will be held at St. Columb's Episcopal Church, located at 550 Sunnybrook Road, Ridgeland, Mississippi, on January 5, 2026, from 10:30 am to 11:00 am, followed by a funeral service at the same venue starting at 11:00 am. A reception will follow the funeral service at 149 St Ives Drive, Madison, Mississippi.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made in Teresa's name to St. Jude, honoring her legacy of kindness and care for others.