Therese Jeanne Jacqueline Coronella, née Havelange, 96, passed away February 4 at Harbor Point Assisted Living, Centerville, MA, where she had resided the last two years. Therese was born in Andrimont, Belgium, in 1925, the only child of Adelin and Catherine Havelange. Spunky and spirited through her nineties, Therese was always on the move. The staff at her assisted living facility wanted to put a pedometer on her walker to keep track of the miles she covered each day.
She was fearless. During the Nazi occupation of Belgium, hunger was omnipresent. Throughout her teens, Therese waited for hours in long bread lines, worked as a maid where the pay was a bowl of hot soup for lunch, and maybe some fresh vegetables she could bring home for a meager supper. Defiantly, she stole potatoes from the back of Nazi trucks. The hardships she endured molded her character; she learned to be brave and practical.
She met the love of her life during the war. Salvatore Michael “ Mike” Coronella was a handsome GI stationed in Belgium. Although neither could speak the other’s language, they were drawn to each other. When Mike returned to America after the war, the young couple wrote letters back and forth with the help of dictionaries. In one of the letters, Mike proposed to Therese.
In 1947, transatlantic flights in propeller planes were risky. It was not uncommon for planes to crash in Newfoundland en route to Boston. Undaunted by the statistics, and holding the ticket Mike sent her, Therese boarded a plane for Boston. When she arrived, Mike’s large Italian family welcomed her with open arms.
Patiently, with the help of the comics section of the Boston Herald, Mike taught Therese to understand English. At first she was reticent about speaking her new language, but once she mastered English, watch out! This fiery redhead, with a strong sense of justice and fairness, soon had no qualms about expressing herself in French or in English!
Terry, as she later was called, centered her life around her husband and their two children, JoAnn and Michael. She worked for the US Postal Service for many years, and in retirement, she and Mike enjoyed traveling. Terry was fiercely proud of her Belgian heritage and missed her country. She and Mike were able to make a few trips “back home” to Belgium where they had a blast revisiting the place where they met and fell in love.
They bought their first home in Somerville, and years later moved to Wakefield. In retirement they bought a home in Sandwich. Everywhere they lived, they made lifelong friends.
They were thrilled when their granddaughter Kristen was born and their grandson Brian was adopted. Their world revolved around the two children. Terry and Mike’s love story continued for 46 years, until Mike’s death in 1993. For the next three decades, Terry’s love for Mike did not diminish. She missed him every day.
Terry adored her two great grandchildren, Jonathan and Julia, to whom she was “Bobonne”. She was so proud of them.
She was a good listener, and she did not believe in gossip. She kept others’ secrets, and her friends found it easy to confide in her. Terry had a lovely singing voice and enjoyed all types of music. She read voraciously and wrote eloquently. She had a quick wit, loved to laugh, and always “told it like it was”. After Mike passed away, she sold their home in Sandwich and moved to Dracut, where she formed new friendships that enriched her life.
For a number of years, Terry donated blood every six weeks. She enjoyed volunteering at the neonatal clinic at Lowell General Hospital, where she cuddled the newborns whose moms had opioid addictions. She also volunteered at the hospital’s autologous blood lab, and helped prepare Meals on Wheels at the Dracut Senior Center.
In her nineties, she learned to paint, and her beautiful framed art work adorned her little apartment at Harbor Point.
She leaves behind her loving family: daughter JoAnn (Coronella) Phillips and her husband John of Brewster, MA; son Michael Coronella and his partner Sue Wolfman of Dunstable, MA; granddaughter Kristen Phillips Kane and her husband Michael of Johnstown, PA; grandson Brian Phillips of Hanford, CA; and two great grandchildren, Jonathan and Julia Kane, of Johnstown, PA.
Terry’s favorite charity was St. Jude Children’s Hospital.
As Terry wished, there will be no formal services. Her ashes will be interred with her beloved husband. At a later date, there will be a gathering to honor her life.