Theresa McConville

Theresa Marie “Terry” McConville, 73, of Surprise, Arizona, departed this life on Feb. 25, 2011. Having seen and done so many things in so many places, having given so much to so many, she was firmly resolved to do more with the life that God gave her. The Lord had other plans, however, and now she has followed Him into Heaven. The first child of the late William Everhart Gaulke and Dorothy Desmond Gaulke, Terry was born in Woodstock, Illinois, on November 9, 1937. She and her sisters, Julianna and Sheila, formed the so-called “TJS Company” to sell pop to farmers on auction days at her father’s livestock sale barn. She loved her pony Toby. Terry graduated from St. Mary’s School and Woodstock High School and then attended Marquette University for two years before marrying Edwin B. McConville, Jr., an officer in the United States Navy. Terry raised six children and loved fourteen grandchildren, all of whom survive her: Daniel McConville (Kirsten) of Phoenix, Arizona; Charles McConville (Deborah) of Virginia Beach, Virginia; Sheila Clemmer (James) of Virginia Beach, Virginia; Timothy McConville (Amy) of Vienna, Virginia; Patrick McConville (Karen) of Crozet, Virginia; and Kevin McConville (Nadja) of Portland, Oregon; and grandchildren Daniel, Katherine, Meghan, Matthew, Margaret, Grace, Finnian, Ronan, Mary, Andrew, Quintin, Everett, Dylan, and Liam. Her sister, Sheila Lassman (Lee), of Geneseo, Illinois, also survives her. Terry loved helping people in need, and as a registered nurse, she aided many. She earned an Associates of Science degree in nursing from Tidewater Community College, in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and then a Bachelor of Science degree in health management from Southern Illinois University. A registered nurse for over thirty years, Terry served as a flight nurse and then specialized in emergency nursing, including at the emergency room at Boswell Memorial Hospital in Sun City, Arizona. Terry served as the Volunteer Chair of Disaster Services, Staff Health, for the Grand Canyon Chapter of the American Red Cross. As a volunteer for the Red Cross and the Public Health Service, she gave hands-on relief to many victims of natural disasters. A modern-day Clara Barton, Terry lived and worked for three weeks in 2005 at Nevada One Mobile Public Health Hospital in Gulfport, Mississippi, helping victims of Hurricane Katrina in severe conditions. Back at home, she helped Katrina evacuees at Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix. She also nursed Hurricane Gustav victims in 2008 as part of the Red Cross’s efforts in Houma and Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Terry served her country as a Navy wife for more than 20 years, raising and supporting her family in Curacao, Puerto Rico, Europe, and Virginia, and enduring alone many long deployments, including during the Viet Nam War. She loved hiking, horseback riding, skiing, golf, the rodeo, reading, loving her grandchildren, outings with friends, and traveling. She visited places all over the United States and around the world. Visitation will be 4-7 p.m., Thursday, March 3, 2011 at Menke Funeral & Cremation Center. Funeral service will be 10:00 a.m., Friday, March 4, 2011 at Menke Funeral & Cremation Center Chapel, 12420 N. 103rd Ave., Sun City, AZ. Interment to follow at Sunland Memorial Park. Donations, designated in the memory of Terry McConville, are suggested to the American Red Cross, Grand Canyon Chapter, 6135 North Black Canyon Highway, Phoenix, AZ 85015.