Theresa F. Upchurch

Theresa Fedor Upchurch entered heaven on May 24, 2025. She was born November 7, 1935, in Thayer, ILL, to Mary Lasko and John Fedor. She married Neil Upchurch on Dec. 22, 1954 and they were married 66 years until his death on their 66th wedding anniversary. Theresa is preceded in death by her 12 brothers and sisters and is survived by many nieces, nephews, (great-, great-great-, and great-great-great). In her words, “I tried to count them once, but lost count at over 100.” Her Slovak mother and German father, both immigrants, instilled in her great pride in her European heritage, a tremendous love of family and sense of charity toward others.

So those are the facts. But to know Theresa (Terri to many), you must have some color commentary. As the thirteenth child, with 5 older sisters and 7 older brothers, she was independent, confident and spirited, traits that carried her through life. She was the apple of her daddy’s eye, but she often lamented that she wished she hadn’t dealt her mom so much grief. She had no interest in learning domestic skills, preferring to tag along with her big brothers, who taught her to shoot, hunt, ice skate and drive a car. She and Gen, her childhood neighbor and lifelong best friend (who, ironically, died 10 days before Theresa), were the only girls on a street full of boys. That lent itself to many adventures, including climbing a tree to spy on the boys skinny-dipping in the nearby creek. Twice she broke an arm falling out of a tree. “My poor mom,” she would say.

When Theresa was 12 years old, her cherished father died, followed by her mom just 5 years later. After these devastating losses, Theresa went to Houston to live with one of her big sisters. She got a job at an insurance agency and settled into life in Texas. Shortly thereafter, at a dance, a friend pointed out a handsome fellow across the room. “I’m going to ask him to dance,” the friend said. But before the friend could take a step, Theresa sashayed across the dance floor and made her move. That fellow was Francis Neil Upchurch, a student at the University of Houston. Before long, Neil would become her husband for the next 66 years.

Neil’s early career took them to Long Island, NY, where Theresa worked for New York Airways. She loved to tell about walking to La Guardia across the snowy runway, carrying a pistol given her by her brother, in her purse and wearing mink earmuffs because it was so cold. (“They cost $5.00!”) From NY, they landed in Augusta, GA, then Williamsburg, VA and back to Augusta. While in Georgia, Theresa worked for Delta Airlines and met her second lifelong best friend, Lecia. For several years, those gals ruled the Delta desk and painted the town when off-duty (with Neil’s permission, of course). Later, Theresa would spend many vacation weeks with Lecia at her home in Hilton Head, playing golf, tennis and working on a superb tan.

In the mid-1960s, Neil took a position at Ft. Sam Houston and San Antonio became home for the rest of their lives. Theresa worked awhile at Broadway Bank but eventually became a full-time homemaker. Though she never cared for housework or cooking, her home was always beautiful, warm and welcoming to friends and family, and food was plentiful.

Her sparkling smile, sense of style and engaging personality made her perfect for modeling women’s clothing in the Scrivener’s Tea Room (undoubtedly leaving Scrivener’s with a few new items for her wardrobe…she did love her clothes…and her shoes, oh, the shoes!). Until very late in life, she always found time for lunch with her lady friends.

Born with a generous heart, she and Neil gave freely to Boysville and St. Pius X Catholic Church. Neighborhood kids knew she was a pushover for any school fundraiser. Though she never had children of her own, she supported the causes of nieces, nephews, and family friends. She also attended to the needs of her older brother Andy and big sis Betty as they grew older. She was an outstanding gift-giver. “I only give things I would like to have,” she would say. And she was an even better gift-receiver. Any gift received was the best, most beautiful, most useful and most cherished item. “I never get rid of any gift someone has given me,” which proved true as we cleaned out her closets. We found the mink earmuffs from New York, too!

Theresa was fun and adventurous and admitted she would try anything once. In her lifetime she raced cars, parasailed off the coast of Acapulco and helicoptered to a glacier. While in Augusta, she registered for flying lessons, but that goal was cut short when Neil received a job reassignment. She frequently played tennis and golf. She and Neil had lots of fun on the car racing circuit - on the East Coast, in Mexico as well as throughout Texas. They held season tickets to UT football games, though neither was an alum. And they enjoyed many vacations in Acapulco, Hawaii, Palm Desert, Hilton Head and elsewhere. Cruises became a big attraction later in life and Theresa always returned with money in her pocket from cruise-ship casino winnings. The one thing she never did was zip-lining, which she asked for when she was 86! We tried to make that happen but it wasn’t to be.

We would like to thank the many people who were part of Team Theresa the past several years. To family and friends who called, visited, brought food or sent cards…know that you brightened her days and filled her heart. To the staff at Gemstone Senior Living in Castle Hills…your tireless commitment to getting to know this lively lady and giving her such care and comfort, especially in the last several weeks, will not be forgotten. And to her hospice nurses, Delfina and April, thank you for joining us at just the right time, with all of your kindness, patience and wisdom.

Aunt Theresa lived large…and she was a big presence in many lives. But, like all of us, she wasn’t perfect. She could be bossy, stubborn, critical and unreasonable. One of her caregivers called her a “chili pepper” because of her “spiciness” and the fact that she could fire up so quickly. But we loved ALL of her. And we will miss her so much.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you make a donation to a charity of your choice.