Terry was born in the Bronx New York to Martin and Ellen (Johnson) Deady who were recent immigrants from the UK. Her older siblings, Richard “Richie” and Mary “May” Deady were born in England, so Terry was the first Deady born on this side of the pond and her younger brother John joined the family in the following years. She grew up in the Bronx, where she graduated from Bronx Vocational High School and met the love of her life Alexander “Al” Gershaneck. They started a family and raised their son Joseph Gershaneck in the same neighborhood until moving to California in the late 1950s. The 1960s brought three more children to the family, Jeffrey Gershaneck, Christine (Gershaneck) Lucy and Patricia Gershaneck and a move to South San Francisco.
Terry was a stay-at-home mom until the late 70s when she started working for the South San Francisco Unified School District. She started her career volunteering at Buri Buri Elementary School in the library and soon discovered her talent for helping children learn. Terry worked in the Tutoring Learning Center (TLC) at Buri Buri alongside three incredible women (Bev, Helen and Denise) over the next decade. She was recognized with the “Golden Apple” award in 1991 which is the highest award given to educators that make an incredible difference in the lives of the children. Terry went on to work in a variety of positions at several other schools over her fourteen-year career before retiring to travel with her husband.
Terry and Al enjoyed their adventures all over the world visiting England, Germany, France, Hawaii and so many other locations after Al’s retirement but always returned home to spend time with family. It was this love of family that gave Terry her greatest joy. Whether it was as a wife, mother, or grandmother “nana”, she was the happiest when surrounded by her husband, children, and grandchildren. Terry lost her hard-fought battle with Alzheimer’s in the comfort of her own home and in the arms of her beloved “Allie”. Terry is survived by her husband Alexander Gershaneck, her children Joseph (Denise) Gershaneck, Jeffrey (Connie) Gershaneck, Christine (Patrick)Lucy and Patricia (Steph) Gershaneck and her grandchildren Megan and Melanie Lucy.
Teresa Gershaneck was laid to rest at Holy Cross Cemetery in Colma on November 15, 2021 with a private memorial attended by her family.
In lieu of flowers, contributions in Teresa Gershaneck’s name to the Alzheimer’s Association would be appreciated.