Theresia McCusker

Theresia, known to everyone as Terry or Aunt Terry, was born in Augsburg, Germany in 1929. After living through World War II with her parents Anton and Franziska Handerer and her only sister, Lanni, she emigrated to the United States and became a naturalized citizen on January 22 nd 1963 while living in Queens, New York. Terry worked in the garment industry in Manhattan and became a very accomplished pattern maker for a number of high-end fashion designers. She joined our family on May 8, 1976 when she married Jim McCusker, Marie, Eileen and Steve’s brother. They lived in a high-rise apartment in Jamaica Estates until Jim’s untimely death in November of 1993.

Terry and Jim were a great couple, despite Jim’s suffering from the progressively debilitating effects of multiple sclerosis. They traveled extensively and enjoyed their time together immensely. Despite having to take two subways to get to her difficult and demanding job in the garment district in Manhattan, Terry was always there to provide loving care to our brother and her husband Jim.

After Jim’s death, Terry chose to remain in the apartment they shared until, because of declining health at the age of 93, she was forced to move to a nursing home, first in Queens and in February of 2023 to Manatawny Manor near Pottstown to be closer to her only living relatives.

Between Jim’s passing and Terry’s move to Manatawny Manor she became very active in the Friendly Club at her church and had a wide circle of friends with whom she continued to travel going as far as Australia with the group. She also enjoyed many trips from Queens to the Atlantic City Resorts Casino where she was very well known. She also took great care of her mother, who had followed her to New York from Germany and to a friend of Jim and hers, Tom Denely, being the primary caregiver for both of them in their final years until they passed.

Terry was also a very dedicated and generous supporter of many charities as evidenced by the many solicitations we continue to receive at our house since she moved to Pennsylvania.

We will always remember our many visits with Terry to her favorite restaurant, the Blue Bay Diner in Queens, where everyone knew her name and was anxious to see her.

Terry was a very strong woman who survived the horrors of war as she grew up in Germany, the migration to the big city as a young woman, the travails of working as an immigrant in the very demanding garment industry in New York and her caring for three different people in their declining years and her own survival to the age of 96.

Terry’s grit and determination are an example to everyone who knew her. I think she was steeled by her formative years in Germany during the war, by her fearless immigration to a new country and the challenges she faced throughout her life. That she made it to 96, is a testament to her strong will and fierce determination. In closing, I would say Terry was one tough lady and we will all miss her.

Relatives and friends are invited to her Funeral Mass in St. Ann Chapel, 604 S. Main Street, Phoenixville, PA on Saturday, February 15, 2025 at 11:00 am.

Burial will be private in St. Michael Cemetery, Elmhurst, NY.

A visitation will be held in the Chapel on Saturday from 10:15 to 10:45 am.