Obituary of Maria Teresa Jurecky

Maria Teresa (Tere) Infante Jurecky, at the age of 88, passed away surrounded by loving family on September 9th, 2016 at her home in Tucson, Arizona. She was born in the Andean highlands of Peru, in the town of Huaraz, on May 19th, 1928. At the age of 13, Tere survived a mudslide that killed her parents Daniel Infante and Maria Adela Mesa and all the younger siblings in her family. Consequently she was sent to the Sacred Heart boarding school in Lima, Peru and went on to earn a teaching degree from the Normal School for Women also administered by the nuns of the Sacred Heart. She made many life-long friends during her school years. In 1951 she came to the United States on a scholarship to continue her studies and obtain her bachelor's degree at Barat College in Lake Forest, Illinois. During that time, she met her husband to be, John Jurecky, and they were married in 1954. The early years of her marriage were spent in Japan where they were stationed by the U.S. Air Force. It was in Japan where her children Jane and Pam were born. She then returned to Peru with the family where their third daughter Mary was born and they ran an English language school. Beginning in 1962, the family joined the ranks of the Foreign Service, with the first assignment in Colombia, where her son Tom was born. The family was also stationed in Spain, Germany and Washington, D.C. with extensive travels to numerous other countries. She relished meeting people and expanding her knowledge of different cultures. In 1977, she settled in Tucson and began work as a teacher for the Tucson Unified School District. Her lively teaching enriched the lives of many students at the Lawrence and Tully elementary schools. During her years as a teacher, she continued to take classes in education at the University of Arizona. Tere had a deep connection to the natural world and spent years nurturing and growing the beautiful desert habitat around her home. She was known for utilizing the fruits of her plants for medicinal and culinary purposes, which she lovingly shared with her family. One of the biggest sources of her pride, was taking care of her plants and her family. As a retiree, Tere continued to travel the world, grow her desert garden, and care for her grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her siblings Domingo, Olga, Anita, and Irma. Tere, a loving mother and extended family matriarch is survived by her children Jane, Pamela, Mary and Thomas, daughter-in-law, Gabrielle, sons-in-law Richard and Ricardo, fourteen grandchildren, three great-grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews. We will miss Tere's generous and loving heart.