Teresa Mary Wilson

Teresa Mary Wilson, age 61, died unexpectedly following a brief illness and with her husband Jeff by her side on Monday, October 15, 2018 at Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston.

Teresa was born October 23, 1956 in Royal Oak, Michigan to Edward and Joan Kuzinski. She was a 1974 graduate of North Farmington High School in Farmington Hills, Michigan. She graduated from Olivet College (MI) in 1978 with a BFA in music and married Jeffery M. Wilson, whom she met at Olivet College, in Farmington Hills on October 27, 1978. In 1982, she earned her K-12 teaching certificate from Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, MI and taught for several years in Battle Creek, MI.

In the ensuing years, she and Jeff lived in Minneapolis and then Chicago. The highlight of her career was teaching music for a dozen years at Providence Academy in Plymouth, MN, where she inspired hundreds of young musicians. She also taught music in various Catholic schools after moving to Chicago in 2011.

Teresa retired in 2015 and moved with Jeff to Bluffton, SC. During her retirement, she continued to engage in her passion for music by joining a local piano club and teaching piano lessons. Those who knew and loved Teresa will remember her as a vibrant and outgoing individual who was very active and athletic. She competed in various sports in her retirement, including pickleball and tennis.  Her nickname on the courts was “Wheels.” In September, she and her tennis team and partner qualified for the upcoming state championship. She was very proud of the fact that she and tennis partner, Paula, were undefeated in their two years of playing together. She and Paula also won a pickleball championship on Hilton Head in the fall of 2017. In addition, she was active in the local book club and Helping Hands.  Both Jeff and Teresa enjoyed the company of their many devoted friends at The Haven.

Teresa is survived by her husband Jeff of Bluffton, SC; daughters Courtney and Erin Wilson, of Chicago, IL; brothers Paul (Barbara) and Mark (Diana) Kuzinski of Lawrence, KS and Heartland, MI respectively; sisters-in-laws Cathey (Tom) Hanover and Karen (Keith) Van Hentenryck of Delaware, OH and Brighton, MI, respectively; and brother-in-law David Wilson, of Walled Lake, MI. In addition, she is survived by several nieces and nephews and too many friends to count. She was preceded in death by her parents and by her brother Francis (Jan) Kuzinski.

A memorial service celebrating Teresa’s life will be held at a later time. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions are suggested to the American Liver Foundation.

It is not the length of life, but the depth of life—Ralph Waldo Emerson.

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