Theresa Marie Louise Asper's Obituary
Mrs. Theresa “Terri” Asper (Dionne) died peacefully of complications due to Alzheimer’s disease in Spotsylvania Regional Hospital on October 9, 2016 at the age of 74.
Terri is survived by her daughter, Janet Asper (Fred Maus); siblings, Normand Dionne (Pauline) of Manchester, NH, and Delores Doiron (Alan) of Jefferson, MA; grandchildren, Allison Delena Maus-Etchison and Dan Frederick Asper; and great-grandchildren, William and Emma Etchison. She was preceded in death by her husband, Dan Charles Asper of Columbus, Ohio.
Terri was born in Manchester, to Maurice and Lillian (Pichette) Dionne. She graduated from Saint George’s High School in Manchester. She married Dan in 1966. Terri and Dan lived in Warrenton, VA and Dayton, OH before settling in Columbus for 32 years. Terri and Dan adopted Janet in 1971 and was a devoted stay at home mom until Janet entered high school, when she became the secretary and bookkeeper for Gaiser Equipment Company in Columbus. After her retirement she volunteered for the Clintonville Resource Center and the Women’s Club at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church.
Terri was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when she was only ten years old. Her family was told that she would likely die before reaching adulthood and predicted many dire disabilities from the disease. Terri aggressively managed her diabetes and was very proud of avoiding those predictions. One of her dearest possessions was her Joslin Medal, which she received for living 50 years with insulin dependent diabetes.
Terri was incredibly talented and creative in many crafts. She taught herself cake decorating as a teenager, making her own wedding cake, winning prizes at local fairs, becoming an active member of the Columbus Culinary Arts Club and International Cake Exploration Societé, and supporting the family by making and decorating cakes. She also loved to sew, making clothing for herself and the family. She loved the holidays and enjoyed painting holiday decorations and made hundreds of baskets from recycled greeting cards, which were donated to several charities. Terri also loved to shop, and there were few wildly printed tops, red sweaters, roosters, or snowman that crossed her path that did not come home with her.
In 2009, after Dan’s death and suffering a catastrophically broken ankle, Terri moved to Fredericksburg, VA to live near her daughter Janet. She joined St. Jude’s Catholic Church and enjoyed going out to eat, shopping and attending events at the Fredericksburg Expo Center. She adored her great grandchildren, Emma and William. Despite her declining mental state, she was absolutely enchanted by her grandson, Dan, who was born in January of this year.
Terri’s family will receive friends from 3:00-5:00 p.m. Sunday, October 16, 2016 at Found and Sons Funeral Chapel, 10719 Courthouse Road, Fredericksburg.
The funeral Mass will be celebrated at 11:00 a.m. Monday October 17, 2016 at St. Jude’s Catholic Church in Fredericksburg, VA with a reception to follow at the Church. Burial will be Friday, October 21, 2016 at 11:00 a.m. in Union Cemetery, 3349 Olentangy River Road, Columbus, OH.
In lieu of flowers please send donations to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (www.jdrf.org) or the Clintonville-Beechwold Community Resources Center (http://clintonvillecrc.org/crc/)
Janet and Fred would like to thank the staff of Greenfield Senior Living of Spotsylvania, Dr. Lynne Clemo and Dr. Mark McClanahan for their dedication to Terri’s care over the past seven years. They would also like to thank Sharon Elder-Hauer of Fredericksburg Comfort Keepers for becoming another daughter to Terri and sister to Janet during the last four years of Terri’s life.
Online condolences may be expressed to her family at foundandsons.com.
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